German-Singaporean relations

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German-Singaporean relations
Location of Germany and Singapore
GermanyGermany SingaporeSingapore
Germany Singapore

In November 2015, Germany and Singapore celebrated the 50th anniversary of German-Singapore relations . After Singapore declared its independence in 1965, the German consulate located there was upgraded to the German embassy. Since then, diplomatic relations have been deepened on both an economic and cultural level. An important point was the "German-Singaporean Declaration" in December 2005, which was intended to intensify cooperation in these areas.

diplomacy

The Singapore embassy has had its German location in Bonn since April 1973, and in August 1999 it moved to the new state capital Berlin. Both countries paid high-level visits to each other to strengthen their bilateral relationship. In February 2015, for example, the Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he last honored ten years earlier, as the first foreign guest, when she took office. The Chancellor was last in Singapore in June 2011 to strengthen the relationship. The Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle also met the Singaporean Foreign Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam in Singapore in February 2013 .

economy

Singapore is Germany's most important trading partner within the ASEAN countries. Germany is Singapore's second most important partner within the European Union (EU). For German investors, the city-state is the first point of contact with the Asian market due to its optimal geographical and stable economic location. The tax incentives created by the government for foreign companies and skilled workers are another location factor. There are now over 1450 German companies registered in Singapore (as of 2015), including BASF, SAP and Daimler, but also more and more medium-sized companies. These increasing interdependencies are also the basis of the many German-Singaporean associations. The German Center Singapore or the Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK) Singapore , for example, offers assistance in setting up German companies in Asia in 1995, while the German Singapore Business Forum (1994) links German and Singaporean companies.

trade

Germany and Singapore are linked by bilateral as well as multilateral cooperation. Both countries are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and take part in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The German economy benefits greatly from its cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Above all, German environmental technologies for renewable energies are well received by the member states. In February 2011, the European Union (EU) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held an economic summit for the first time in Singapore. This was followed in spring 2013 by the signing of a free trade agreement between the European Union and Singapore, which is regarded as the most active country of the association in global trade. The high export bias and the low tariffs encourage foreign direct investment. In 2013 the total trade volume between Germany and Singapore was 21 billion Singapore dollars (SGD). Germany's arms trade makes up the largest share of this, Singapore is among the top 10 recipient countries of arms exports from the Federal Republic of Germany. Germany mainly imports data processing equipment, electronic and chemical products and machinery from Singapore.

Key figures (as of 2014)

Trade volume between Germany and Singapore

  • Total trading volume: 20,306.6 (in SGD million)
  • German imports from Singapore: 6,842.2 (in million SGD)
  • German exports to Singapore: 13,482.2 (in millions of SGD)

education

A cultural agreement has existed between Germany and Singapore since 1990. The main focus is on the work of the Goethe Institute . It promotes and supports international exchange, among other things through a wide range of language courses and diverse cultural events to illustrate German culture. In addition, there are other institutions at the academic level that promote the cultural and educational dialogue. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) promotes the internationalization of universities and distributes scholarships to students worldwide. It has been based in Singapore since September 2001. The German European School Singapore (GESS) has existed since 1971 and is one of the largest German schools abroad in Asia. In addition, the Fraunhofer Institute Singapore , the German Institute of Science and Technology (GIST-TUM Asia), the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Singapore and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Asia are further sponsors of the cultural relationship and cooperation. On the part of Singapore, the Singapore Student's Association of Germany (SSAG) has emerged, which offers a network for Singaporean students in Germany and organizes various events to make the Singaporean culture known in Germany.

tourism

In 2014, Singapore recorded a total of 149,205 arrivals by German travelers, both for business and pleasure. This is an indication of the city-state's steadily increasing tourism rate. The Foreign Office does not provide any special security precautions for the country, but warns of the particularly strict regulations regarding drug trafficking and drug consumption as well as pollution of all kinds (Singapore is considered the cleanest city in the world), which can be punished with heavy fines or even corporal fines if violated . Singaporean tourists do not need a visa to enter Germany. German tourists do not need a visa for a stay of less than 90 days in Singapore.

Culture

Due to the steadily growing German community in Singapore, various associations have formed. One of the largest is the German Association or the German House , which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2006. This makes it the oldest European association in Singapore, founded in 1856 under the name Teutonia Club. As a counterpart to this, the Singaporeans in Germany Club has existed in Germany since 2006 , which was officially recognized by the Singapore Embassy in Germany.

further reading

  • Dreis-Lampen, Barbara, ASEAN and the European Union-Inventory and reassessment of interregional relations, Hamburg, 1998, ISBN 978-3-88910-195-2 .
  • Adam, Erfried, On the arduous business of promoting democracy-The international development cooperation of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bonn, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8012-0434-1 .
  • Gälli, Anton, New growth markets in the Far East 8 countries on the threshold of economic power; Documentation volume for the international conference of the Ifo Institute "Growth Market Southeast Asia - Opportunities and Risks of Entrepreneurial Cooperation" from October 19 to 21, 1983 in Munich, Munich (among others), 1983, ISBN 3-8039-0279-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Foreign Office, "Country Information Singapore" . (Accessed January 25, 2016)
  2. ^ Embassy of the Republic of Singapore, "About the Embassy" . (Accessed January 25, 2016)
  3. ^ The Federal Government, "Premier of Singapore in Berlin-partner in research and economy" . (Accessed January 25, 2016)
  4. ↑ Foreign Office, "Country Information Singapore" . (Accessed January 25, 2016)
  5. ↑ Federal Statistical Office: Ranking of trading partners in foreign trade in the Federal Republic of Germany. Federal Statistical Office, accessed on July 4, 2018 (eng).
  6. ↑ Singapore's Top Trading Partners . In: World's Top Exports . February 8, 2018 ( worldstopexports.com [accessed July 4, 2018]).
  7. ↑ Foreign Office, "Country Information Singapore" . (Accessed January 25, 2016)
  8. ↑ German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, "Asean is catching up - new opportunities for the German economy in Southeast Asia" ( Memento of the original from January 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . (Retrieved January 25, 2016) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dihk.de
  9. ↑ Handelsblatt, "EU and Singapore sign trade agreement" . (Accessed January 25, 2016)
  10. ↑ Seifer, Kerstin / Lurz, Alexander, "Armaments Export Report of the Federal Government for 2014" , (as of June 24, 2015). (Accessed January 25, 2016)
  11. ↑ Foreign trade portal Bavaria Export, "Foreign trade portal Bavaria export to and import from Singapore after years" . (Accessed January 27, 2016)
  12. ↑ March, Jaqueline / Eckhardt, Elena, "Energy efficiency in buildings - target market analysis with profiles of the market players Singapore" , 2015. (Accessed January 24, 2016)
  13. ↑ Goethe-Institut Singapore, "About Us" . (As of January 25, 2016)
  14. ↑ Singapore Tourism Board, "Increasing numbers of visitors to Singapore" ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 2014. (As of January 25, 2016) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / your-singapore.de
  15. ↑ Federal Foreign Office, "Singapore Travel and Safety Instructions" (Retrieved January 25, 2016)
  16. ^ Embassy of the Republic of Singapore, "Visa requirements for Singaporeans traveling abroad" . (Accessed January 25, 2016)
  17. ^ German Association, "The History" . (Accessed January 26, 2016)
  18. ↑ Singaporeans in Germany Club, "About us" . (Accessed January 26, 2016)