Vivian Balakrishnan Heads to Canada After Qatar Visit

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan is travelling to Canada for a two-day official visit from September 17 to 18, following a working visit to Qatar focused on bilateral cooperation and regional developments.

Balakrishnan’s Canada visit comes at the invitation of Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand and marks the first visit by a Singapore foreign minister to Canada since 2013.

In Ottawa, Balakrishnan is scheduled to meet Anand and Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon. He will also meet Canadian academics, business leaders and government officials.

The visit is expected to focus on areas of mutual interest including emerging technologies, energy and food security, two-way investment and supply-chain resilience.

Singapore and Canada have maintained diplomatic relations since Singapore’s independence in 1965, with cooperation extending across trade, investment, defence, education, science, technology and innovation.

Bilateral merchandise trade reached C$3.7 billion in 2024, up from C$3.2 billion in 2023, according to Canadian government figures. Canadian exports to Singapore were worth C$2.2 billion, while imports from Singapore totalled C$1.5 billion.

Before travelling to Canada, Balakrishnan visited Qatar from September 16 to 17, where he co-chaired the third Qatar-Singapore Implementation Monitoring Mechanism with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi.

The meeting reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed areas including energy resilience, sustainable development, information and communications technology, security, business and legal cooperation.

During his Qatar visit, Balakrishnan also met senior Qatari officials, including Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Discussions included regional developments and diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing tensions and maintaining freedom of maritime navigation.

The Singapore and Qatari sides also agreed to continue following up on the latest meeting’s outcomes, with the next Implementation Monitoring Mechanism meeting scheduled to take place in Singapore in 2027.

Balakrishnan’s back-to-back visits to Qatar and Canada come as Singapore continues to strengthen bilateral ties and engage partners on economic, technological, security and international issues.