Singapore and Germany agreed to expand cooperation on industrial artificial intelligence under an updated five-pillar joint work plan at a press conference at Parliament House in Singapore on 27 October, CNA reported. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz placed digitalisation and AI alongside security, trade, research and the energy transition in the countries’ strategic partnership.
Key points
- The updated joint work plan makes digitalisation and AI one of five areas of cooperation.
- Wong identified industrial AI, applied to physical operations and supply chains, as an area where the countries’ strengths could complement each other.
- The plan also covers defence exchanges, economic collaboration and support for renewable-energy and grid projects.
- Wong said cooperation on AI deployment should remain safe, trusted and human-centred.
Industrial AI in the five-pillar plan
Wong singled out the development and deployment of industrial AI as an area in which the strengths of Singapore and Germany could complement each other. CNA describes industrial AI as using computer vision, machine learning and autonomous systems in supply chains, factories, energy systems and other physical settings. Wong said the two countries wanted to do more together under their strategic partnership, established in November 2024.
The updated plan divides cooperation among political, defence, security and intelligence matters; trade, investment, transport and urban development; digitalisation and AI; research, science, technology and innovation; and the energy transition, green economy and climate. It places industrial AI within a programme that also covers the systems and industries in which the technology could be used.
Merz was on a two-day official visit to Singapore, his first since becoming chancellor in 2025. Speaking in German at the press conference, he pointed to the volume of international trade moving through the region and said Germany wanted a part in major technological innovations. He described the visit as an effort to deepen partnerships amid the region’s political, economic and technological activity.
Singapore and Germany’s economic links
Germany is Singapore’s largest goods-trading partner among European Union countries and its third-largest partner in services. Wong said digital technologies and AI could create opportunities for businesses and workers. He identified the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement, signed in 2025, as a foundation for transactions across borders.
The two governments announced a year of innovation initiative in February, with AI, quantum technology, microelectronics and biotechnology among its focus areas. Wong said Singapore intended to pursue more joint research and innovation projects with Germany in AI, advanced manufacturing, green technologies, semiconductors, quantum technology and space technology.
For economic collaboration, the updated plan includes work through the Germany-Singapore Framework for Sustainability and Innovation, including exchanges on matters of mutual interest. That gives the two governments another existing channel for cooperation alongside the digital trade agreement and the year of innovation initiative.
Defence exchanges and the ASEAN Power Grid
The security pillar calls for continued military-to-military cooperation and defence exchanges covering digitalisation, cybersecurity, research and development, innovation, armament, service and maintenance. It also includes opportunities for closer collaboration between the Singapore Armed Forces and Germany’s Bundeswehr.
On energy, the plan aims to support development of the ASEAN Power Grid through commercial participation in renewable-energy and grid-interconnection projects. Existing bilateral trade-promotion platforms and industry networks are among the channels identified for that work.
Wong said both governments recognised that AI presented risks and challenges. He said their cooperation on deployment should remain “safe, trusted and human-centred”. Wong advocated safe AI deployment alongside more joint research with Germany.
Wong also cited Germany’s endorsement of the Guiding Principles for Underwater Infrastructure Defence Exchanges, a voluntary framework involving 17 countries, including Singapore. It addresses the protection of critical underwater infrastructure such as telecommunications, energy and pipeline systems. Germany became an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner in July.
Singapore will work to deepen ASEAN’s partnerships with Germany and the EU during its ASEAN chairmanship in 2027, Wong said, including by making progress towards an ASEAN-EU free trade agreement.
