President Lee Jae Myung held summit talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on March 2, agreeing to launch negotiations to upgrade their bilateral free trade agreement and enhance artificial intelligence cooperation. The meeting, the second in four months, focused on strengthening existing ties in trade, investment, and infrastructure while expanding into future-oriented areas like AI and nuclear energy. The two nations signed five memorandums of understanding in AI, small modular reactors, digital, and science and technology fields.
President Lee Jae Myung and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong held summit talks in Singapore on March 2, agreeing to deepen their strategic partnership. The meeting marked the second summit in four months, following Wong's visit to South Korea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where bilateral ties were elevated to a strategic partnership. They committed to upgrading the free trade agreement (FTA) that entered into force in 2006, extending it beyond goods and services to reflect evolving trade, economic security dynamics, and technological advances.
"We two leaders agreed to upgrade the bilateral FTA, which took effect twenty years ago, in a manner that fully reflects evolving trade and economic security dynamics, as well as technological advances," they stated in a joint press announcement. The leaders agreed to strengthen AI cooperation in public safety and intellectual property sectors and work toward developing an AI Cooperation Framework. "Through physical AI-driven industrial innovation and joint research and expanded investment in real world applications of AI, our two countries will secure the momentum needed to advance our AI cooperation," Lee said.
Singapore leads in AI governance and regulation and serves as a hub for AI data in Southeast Asia, while South Korea excels in semiconductors, data center infrastructure, and manufacturing AI. The nations signed an MOU for joint research on small modular reactors, including information sharing and training. Other agreements cover science and technology cooperation in quantum computing, space, and satellite technologies.
Security issues were also discussed amid escalating Middle East tensions. Lee thanked Wong for supporting Seoul's efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and resume talks with North Korea, noting Singapore's role in the 2018 U.S.-North Korea summit. They assessed the Middle East situation's impact on global security, economy, and energy supply chains, expressing hope for restored stability.
Prior to the summit, Lee met with ceremonial President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and attended a naming ceremony for the orchid hybrid "Vanda Lee Jae Myung Kim Hea Kyung," honoring him and first lady Kim Hea Kyung. "I am truly honored to have this beautiful, fragrant orchid named after me," Lee said. Later, he was scheduled to attend the AI Connect Summit with business leaders from both countries.
