Statement on the 8th UK-Singapore Economic & Business Partnership

On 25th September 2025, Gareth Davies CB, Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business and Trade (), joined the 8th UK-Singapore Economic and Business Partnership () Steering Committee, hosted by Dr Beh Swan Gin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry () in Singapore.

Co-chaired by the Permanent Secretaries in-person, the is a key platform to bolster our economic relationship, covering areas of mutual interest in trade policy, economic resilience, and investment. Singapore is a significant investor in the UK and is the country's 20th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching £23.4 billion in the last year.

In a period of global uncertainty for governments and exporters, discussions at the Steering Committee centred on mutual affirmation of the rules-based international system and support for multilateral organisations like the World Trade Organisation, as well as plurilateral agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (). The UK and Singapore also agreed to continue cooperation in relation to Industrial Strategy, digital trade, and the green economy - building on 60 years of diplomatic relations commemorated this year.

The Permanent Secretaries also hosted a business event with representatives from UK and Singapore businesses and investors. The session outlined opportunities for attendees in the UK's new Industrial Strategy and Singapore's National Strategy.