Malcolm Turnbull to host Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong in Canberra
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Version 0 of 1. Malcolm Turnbull will host the Singaporean prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, for the inaugural annual summit between the leaders under a comprehensive strategic partnership agreed by the two countries. Lee will address federal parliament on Wednesday before launching into a program in which several agreements will be signed, including a deal on military training, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on innovation and science, and an agreement on combating transnational drug crime. The two leaders will also sign an agreement on the Australia-Singapore free trade deal. It will be the first time a Singaporean prime minister has addressed the Australian parliament. The visit is expected to tie up a plan to rotate 14,000 Singaporean military personnel through Queensland each year. This will require an expansion of military bases in north Queensland. The new arrangement is proposed to last for 25 years. Current arrangements allow 6,600 Singaporean troops to train in Australia for six weeks a year. Before the talks the defence minister, Marise Payne, told reporters the strategic partnership with Singapore was “a seminal change in our relationship with Singapore, who is already an extremely important partner”. “In the region it sends very positive signals about our preparedness to engage, about our preparedness to support … the keys of security and stability in the region,” she said. “It is a matter which has been applauded around the region, viewed very positively and I think we will see, in terms of its impact in Townsville and the greater area around Townsville … and in Shoalwater Bay closer to Rockhampton, the impact of that in the infrastructure development and in the mere presence of the based members of the Singaporean defence force … that is going to be a real game changer in the regions.” In a statement Turnbull said the visit would highlight Australia’s strong partnership with Singapore, “founded on complementary economies, multicultural societies and common interests in regional peace and prosperity”. Turnbull said the ties between Australia and Singapore went back to the second world war, and the defence of Singapore, in which more than 1,700 Australians lost their lives. “We were the first country to establish diplomatic relations with Singapore and celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year,” he said. “Singapore is now Australia’s fifth largest trading partner and foreign investor.” |