Working Visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to Panama, Guyana and Suriname, 17 to 21 May 2026

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Press Statements

22 May 2026

Working Visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to Panama, Guyana and Suriname, 17 to 21 May 2026.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan made working visits to the Republic of Panama from 17 to 18 May 2026, the Co-operative Republic of Guyana on 19 May 2026, and the Republic of Suriname from 19 to 21 May 2026.

In Panama, Minister Balakrishnan met President José Raúl Mulino Quintero, Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Eduardo Martínez-Acha Vásquez, and Minister of Commerce and Industries Julio Moltó. They discussed opportunities to deepen economic cooperation, including in trade and investment, port management, and supply chain resilience. They reaffirmed the importance of international law, as well as the freedom of navigation and overflight, which are critical for small maritime nations like Singapore and Panama which rely on open sea lanes and the free flow of trade for their prosperity and connectivity. Minister Balakrishnan also visited the Cocol Locks and PSA Panama International Terminal at the Panama Canal to learn about Panama's maritime and logistics operations.

In Guyana, Minister Balakrishnan met President Irfaan Ali and Foreign Minister Hugh Todd. They took stock of Singapore-Guyana relations and reaffirmed the positive trajectory of bilateral ties. They also exchanged views on ways to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, energy, food security and supply chain resilience, and welcomed growing economic engagement in the offshore energy sector and related services.

In Suriname, Minister Balakrishnan met President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, Foreign Minister Melvin Bouva, Minister of Oil, Gas and Environment Patrick Brunings, and Minister of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation Andrew Baasaron. They explored opportunities to deepen cooperation in energy and sustainability, as well as opportunities to expand trade and investment collaboration. They also discussed enhancing cooperation in capacity building, particularly in digital economy and climate resilience.

While in Suriname, Minister Balakrishnan attended the 29^th Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) Meeting as a Special Guest. Minister Balakrishnan reaffirmed Singapore's commitment to work closely with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States to uphold multilateralism, free trade and international law, including through the Forum of Small States. Minister Balakrishnan announced the Cooperation for Opportunities, Advancement, Sustainability and Transformation (COAST) Technical Assistance Package, underscoring Singapore's commitment to provide capacity-building support to CARICOM Member States in digitalisation, education, and sustainability. Minister Balakrishnan also met CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett and Saint Kitts and Nevis Foreign Minister Denzil Douglas on the sidelines of the COFCOR Meeting. The transcript of Minister Balakrishnan's remarks at the COFCOR Meeting is at Annex.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

22 MAY 2026

Annex

TRANSCRIPT OF MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS DR VIVIAN BALAKRISHNAN'S REMARKS AT THE 29^th MEETING OF THE COUNCIL FOR FOREIGN AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS (COFCOR) OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM) IN PARAMARIBO, SURINAME ON 20 MAY 2026

Thank you, my brother, [Saint Kitts and Nevis Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Economic Development and Investment Dr Denzil Douglas] and to [CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett] as well. It is an honour to be here with all of you, good, old friends. We often meet in airport lounges, in New York (during UNGA), and in multilateral meetings. I used to be Environment Minister, so for some of you, we have interacted on the climate change circuit as well. But this is my first official trip to CARICOM, and I am deeply honoured for this opportunity.

2 Singapore is a tiny island. Just to put it into perspective, we are about three to four hundred times smaller than Suriname. But we have six million people, so it is a very densely packed island. We have had diplomatic ties going back to 1971. I believe our first diplomatic relations were with Trinidad and Tobago. At that time, most of us were newly independent states, embarking on our respective nation-building journeys against the backdrop of the Cold War, decolonisation struggles, the iniquities and inequities of colonisation, and political uncertainty.

3 In the case of Singapore, we have been extremely fortunate, and we have had a good run of sixty years so far. But sixty years is a short time as far as nation-building is concerned. We work closely with most of you in a variety of groups, including the Global Governance Group (3G), the Forum of Small States (FOSS), and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

4 I am pleased to report that our trade volume has gone up. Trade in goods has gone up by about 33 per cent year-on-year, amounting to US$1.7 billion in 2025. Our trade in services has now reached US$1.64 billion, and this is an increase of almost 36.4 per cent from the previous year. But we can do far more than this, and we are looking for opportunities to do more with you in trade and investment, food security, supply chains, climate resilience, digitalisation, sustainability and renewable energy.

5 We are separated by a vast ocean, but I believe that our close cooperation is underpinned by a shared outlook and also, shared risk. In a sense, we are all in the same boat. We are small states. We need to act with clarity of vision, steadfastness of purpose, and determination to exercise agency and to seek safety in numbers. It is like building a raft: it is more stable when more of us come together.

6 We share common strategic interests, including an abiding commitment to multilateralism, free trade, and rule of law. We also face common challenges, the top of which are climate change, pandemics and for some of us, extremely limited resources. Unfortunately, we are meeting at a time that is very dangerous and tumultuous. The world order is shifting from multilateralism to unilateralism, from free trade to protectionism, from diplomacy to the exercise of brute power.

7 And in times like this, the CARICOM becomes even more essential to uphold multilateralism, regional cooperation, the rule of law, and habits of cooperation. And that is why Singapore has always been a steadfast supporter of CARICOM. And again, for those of you whom I have had a chance to work with, you know that we have been through challenges, ups and downs, together.

8 As a small state, Singapore has benefitted from a good run, good innings, the last six decades. And we believe in paying it forward, and especially through capacity building. So, we started the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) in 1992. To date, more than 2,300 officials from CARICOM countries have participated in these cooperation programmes, which focus on capacity building and sharing our experiences.

9 Today, I am happy to announce that Singapore will additionally launch a customised Technical Assistance Package for CARICOM Member States. We have titled this "Cooperation for Opportunities, Advancement, Sustainability & Transformation", or COAST for short, since we are all island states. So, the name "COAST" underscores our shared identity, small island maritime nations, facing common challenges together.

10 Under this Package, which will run from 2027 to 2029, we will conduct customised courses in the Caribbean for Caribbean mid- and senior-level officials. And based on the input that we have received from all of you, on your areas of interest, we will curate courses that focus on topics including Digitalisation, Education, Leadership and Governance, and Sustainability.

11 We will also offer priority placements for CARICOM officials in our SCP calendars. So, after running courses here, I hope some of you will make that 30-hour long journey to Singapore.

12 Our programmes will allow us to exchange ideas on best practices, identify opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation, and to build professional networks and, just as important, lifelong friendships. And it is an opportunity for mutual learning for both parties.

13 We hope this Package will contribute to the Caribbean's development in a meaningful and tangible way, because your challenges have escalated on both the natural front, as well as on the political front, in your neighbourhood.

14 Apart from technical cooperation, the other critical arena of cooperation for us is in our collective support for multilateral institutions including the UN, WHO, and for the concept of international law. For small nations, international law is not a luxury. It is an essential. Because in the absence of international law, it is the law of the jungle. And we would be severely disadvantaged. And when I mentioned international law, from a maritime island state, I need to highlight the critical importance of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

15 And it is in this spirit that Singapore has nominated Ambassador for International Law Rena Lee, as our candidate to be a Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In fact, this is the first time that we have ever nominated a candidate for the ICJ election since we joined the UN in 1965. We put forward very few candidates for UN bodies and positions, and we do so only if we believe that we can make a positive contribution.

16 I think many of you would be familiar with Ambassador Lee or even if you are not personally familiar with her, someone in your delegation will know her. She has interacted with your officials on many occasions - in the climate change circuit, and on the development of AI. Most recently, she addressed the CARICOM PRs in New York on 29 April 2026. She is a veteran international law practitioner and has deep expertise in a wide range of international law domains, including the law of the sea, climate change, environmental law, international humanitarian law, and human rights law.

17 She presided over the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) and led five years of complex negotiations. And to be able to deliver any treaty at the UN by consensus in times like this, I think you all know it is quite a major achievement.

18 If she is elected, Ambassador Lee will be the first woman Judge from a small island state, following the footsteps of Jamaica and Guyana who have had judges in the ICJ. So, we hope that you will consider her nomination, her candidature, positively. And I want to thank those of you who have already expressed your support for her. We are grateful, we take this support seriously, and we take no country for granted.

19 Let me conclude. We live in turbulent times. The burdens of the past continue to haunt us. Coming from Southeast Asia, which was also colonised, I am acutely conscious that in fact, the yoke was far heavier in the Caribbean. Nevertheless, we need to escape that yoke, and we need to create a future for our next generation and the future which will be replete with both challenges and opportunities. On that note, thank you for this chance to be here, and I will probably see you all again. Thank you.

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