BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – In a time of global uncertainty, Singapore needs an active foreign policy that requires constant engagement with other countries, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on the sidelines of a state visit to Brunei.

Doing so allows the Republic to express its views, as well as find ways to keep up and update relationships with other countries, he added. Singapore does this with the largest players such as China, the United States, the European Union and India, as well as actively in the region.

Such engagements are carried out at various levels, including political leaders and senior officials, as well as through the business community, Mr Tharman said on Jan 26. He was on a three-day state visit to Brunei that started on Jan 24 – his first overseas state visit since taking office.

With the world order gradually eroding and splintering, Singapore, as a small nation, has to take the world as it is, Mr Tharman said.

He added: “We express our views, stand by our principles, but we have to learn to interact with countries as they evolve.”

By adopting an active foreign policy, Singapore does not expect to shape the world according to what it thinks it should be, but ensure that national interests are served as the rest of the world gets reshaped, he said.

Highlighting Singapore’s ties with Brunei, Mr Tharman said the two countries share a “special relationship” that goes beyond strategic considerations or common strategic interests.

“It has always rested on personal relationships,” he said.

He noted that the relationship between Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the late Seri Begawan Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien started much earlier, before both countries established diplomatic ties 40 years ago.

“It has been renewed ever since by successive leaders in Singapore,” added Mr Tharman.

He said even though this is his fourth visit to Brunei, this is the first time that he has had the chance to have extended conversations with Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and other members of the royal family in both formal and informal settings.

In a social media post on Jan 26 to wrap up his state visit, Mr Tharman said he and his wife, Mrs Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, had memorable informal conversations with the Sultan and his wife, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha, over tea, dinner and a morning walk and breakfast. He and the Sultan also planted rubber trees in Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas, a riverfront park.

The growing relationship between the younger generation of leaders on both sides was often highlighted during Mr Tharman’s visit. He said that the Young Leaders’ Programme (YLP) would be the main – and very important – platform for them to build on the foundation of strong personal relationships established by past leaders.

The YLP, an annual exchange of visits that both countries take turns to host, started in 2013, and held its last edition in December 2023 in Brunei.

It was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong and Brunei’s Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah.

Mr Tharman said: “We are very clear about the importance of not just continuing with past practice, but adapting as times change and developing new relationships.”

National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who is part of the Singapore delegation that travelled with Mr Tharman to Brunei, said he took the opportunity to reach out to his ministerial-level counterparts – both past and present ones.

Mr Lee, who has been on four official trips to Brunei since 2012, said he and other younger members of the Government “closely abide” by the principle that they need to invest time and energy in the relationship between Singapore and Brunei.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman also shared his personal experiences of visiting members of the royal family and government officials in Brunei annually for Hari Raya.

In turn, Dr Maliki, who is also Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education, said that for several years now, he has personally hosted several of them for dinners at his house when they are in Singapore – a reflection of how deep their ties go beyond an official level.

He pointed out that Singapore and Brunei’s relationship has always been described as “special”.

“That word... is really very meaningful because it reflects the amount of effort that both sides put in (to establish) that relationship at all levels.”