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Singapore's Core Foreign Policy Principles
29 March 2022
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#TIL that in 2017, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan held a townhall meeting, after an unusually heated debate broke out among Singapore’s luminaries on how we should conduct ourselves as a small state in a dangerous world.
In his speech, Dr Balakrishnan pointed out that unlike “retired officials, academics and commentators”, current officers are responsible for the execution of foreign policy on a daily basis.
He stated that “We must be prepared to speak up, and if necessary, disagree with others, without being gratuitously disagreeable. We may always be a small state, but all the more reason we need the courage of our convictions and the resolution to secure the long term interests of all our citizens.”
Dr Balakrishnan clarified what Singapore’s core foreign policy principles are, as formulated by founding fathers Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Mr S Rajaratnam, Dr Goh Keng Swee, and their team.
Scroll down to see what the core policies are.
His speech can also be read here.