Singapore - Turkey relations are the bilateral relations between

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 12 February 1969. Singapore has an embassy in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. Turkey has an embassy in Singapore.

Economic relations

Primary export products of Turkey includes iron and steel; mineral fuel oils; furniture bedding, lamps, fittings; boilers and parts; articles of apparel and accessories knitted. Turkish imports are mainly composed of postal packages and special transactions; electrical machinery and appliances; aluminum and plastic products. During a visit by Singapore President SR Nathan to Turkey in 2009, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey- Foreign Economic Relations Board (TOBB-DEIK) and Singapore Business Federation (SBF) concluded an agreement on the establishment of Turkey-Singapore Business Council. The council aims to promote bilateral trade between the two countries, as well as develop industrial and technological cooperation. Turkey and Singapore have agreements for “Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income” and “Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments”. Bilateral trade hit a record high in 2011 with total trade reaching S$2.2 billion in 2011, a 79 per cent increase from the previous year. An FTA between both nations was signed in November 2015 and entered into force in October 2017 during the G20 Summit that year.

State visits

In 2012, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan visited Singapore where he met with Singapore President

Tony Tan Tony Tan Keng Yam (; born 7 February 1940) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017. He did not seek for a second term as president in 2017 due to a constitutional amendment ...

, Deputy Prime Minister

Tharman Shanmugaratnam Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Tamil: தர்மன் சண்முகரத்தினம்; born 25 February 1957) is a Singaporean politician and economist who has been serving as Senior Minister of Singapore since 2019 and has also been C ...

, Minister of Foreign Affairs K. Shanmugam and Minister for Trade and Industry

Lim Hng Kiang Lim Hng Kiang ( zh, s=林勋强, p=Lín Xūnqiáng; born 9 April 1954) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Trade and Industry between 2004 and 2018, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office between 2003 and 2004, Mini ...

. The two leaders agreed to further deepen bilateral cooperation across different sectors including trade, investments and finance. During the meetings, the leaders acknowledged the excellent state of bilateral relations between Singapore and Turkey. Babacan warmly welcomed Singapore's intention to open an embassy in Ankara later that year. They also exchanged views on regional developments in Asia and the Middle East. H.E. President Erdoğan, then in his capacity as Prime Minister, visited Singapore on 8–9 January 2014. H.E. Prime Minister Lee visited Turkey on 12–15 October 2014. Prime Minister H.E Binali Yıldırım paid an official visit to Singapore on 21–22 August 2017.

Migration

There are 500 Turkish citizens based in Singapore and over 50 Turkish companies registered in Singapore.

Embassies

Embassy of Turkey, Singapore

The Embassy of Turkey in Singapore is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

. It is located in the Tanglin district of Singapore. The embassy promotes Turkish interests in Singapore and represents Turkey's

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

, and cultural interests in the country. The embassy also provides consular services to Turkish nationals residing in or visiting Singapore. The embassy offers various services, including visa application processing, passport renewal, and notary services. It also provides information and assistance to Turkish citizens in case of emergencies, such as natural disasters, accidents, or arrests. The embassy also works closely with the Turkish community in Singapore to provide support and assistance as needed. The current ambassador of Turkey to Singapore is Mehmet Burçin Gönenli, who assumed his duties in April 2021. He is responsible for overseeing the embassy's operations and promoting strong bilateral relations between Turkey and Singapore.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singapore-Turkey relations

Bilateral relations of Turkey