Singapore to participate in G20 meetings and Hamburg summit in 2017

Singapore has accepted the invitation to participate in the G20 Meetings and the Hamburg Summit in 2017, according to a joint statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Friday.

In a separate statement, MFA revealed that Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in response to her invitation.

PM Lee said Singapore welcomes Germany's priorities on resilience, responsibility and sustainability. The G20's leadership in steering the global economy is especially crucial at a time of subdued global economic outlook, as well as sluggish growth in trade and investment.

"As an open economy and a major financial center, Singapore will continue our active contributions to the G20's ongoing discussions on key economic and financial policy issues," said PM Lee.

In his letter to Merkel, Lee also noted Singapore firmly supports Germany's efforts to enrich the inclusiveness and transparency of the G20 process by reaching out to non-G20 countries.

"Singapore seeks to promote stronger engagement between the G20 and the wider United Nations membership through the Global Governance Group (3G)," he added.

Singapore and Germany enjoy excellent relations and cooperate closely in multilateral fora. As a major financial center and hub for investments into Asia, Singapore looks forward to contributing to G20 discussions on global financial reforms, the multilateral trading system, employment and digitalization, according to the joint statement by MFA and MOF. Endit