<\/p>\nhis four-day trip to Mexico<\/p>\n
<\/a>, Mr Tharman said Mexico\u2019s diversity offers market access for Singapore\u2019s exports and support for food security. It also offers ideas, which could come from its deep pools of talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.<\/p>\n
Other countries that Mr Tharman visited in 2025 include India, Egypt, Belgium and Luxembourg.<\/p>\n
The global instability is likely to persist for some time, noted Mr Tharman. \u201cBut stronger bilateral relationships, and stronger relationships between regions, are one of the ways we gain resilience in an unstable world.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his Mexico trip, he met business leaders, as well as governors of individual states. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is great enthusiasm to strengthen the Singapore-Mexico relationship. The two countries\u2019 business communities are key to the relationship too,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was tremendous interest on the part of Mexican businesses to want to work with Singapore. The opportunities in Mexico are large.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Tharman highlighted that the Singapore-Mexico relationship goes back to before formal ties were established in 1975.<\/p>\n
The two regions of Asia and Latin America were connected by the Manila Galleon trade route from 1565 to 1815. Then, Mexican silver pieces were widely exported across Asia in the 1800s. <\/p>\n
Today, there are opportunities to create new lanes across the Pacific, said Mr Tharman, referring to trade and investment opportunities in areas like advanced manufacturing, clean energy, ports and infrastructure, and digital and AI transformation. <\/p>\n
Opportunities in agri-business are also key, given the importance of food security to Singapore, added Mr Tharman. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat came through in our engagements is the desire to recreate\u2026 the trade and investment flows, and the flows of ideas and people across the Pacific,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mexico\u2019s size \u2013 about 3,200km long and almost 2,000km wide \u2013 and the fact that its 31 states have some autonomy mean that it has a diversity of offerings, he noted. It has an \u201cunusually diverse\u201d economy.<\/p>\n
While Mexico as a whole looks like a developing country with many low-skilled and middle-skilled activities, it has centres that are far more advanced and sophisticated. That is where they see opportunity and complementarity in working with Singapore, said Mr Tharman. <\/p>\n