PUBLISHED ONSeptember 19, 2026 6:06 AMBYSean LerMinister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan has had a busy September, even though there's still 11 days to the end of the month.
Dr Balakrishnan started the month in Palau, where he attended the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Dialogue, then headed off to Thailand for the Singapore-Thailand Leaders' Retreat on Sept 2.
He then travelled across the Causeway to officiate the opening of Singapore's relocated consulate in Johor Bahru. While in Johor, Dr Balakrishnan took the opportunity to have an audience with Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim and met with Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
Upon returning from Malaysia, the foreign minister hosted his Brazilian counterpart who was in Singapore on an official visit, as well as Australian Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs Tim Watts, in between a three-day Parliament sitting.
Just this week, Dr Balakrishnan was in Qatar's Doha to co-chair the third Qatar-Singapore Implementation Monitoring Mechanism, before heading straight to Canada's Ottawa for another two-day visit at the invitation of his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand.
He will be heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly next week.
Speaking to the media in Ottawa on Saturday (Sept 19), Dr Balakrishnan was asked by AsiaOne about the stretch of engagements which has taken him across continents.
"This has been a constant," he replied candidly.
Dr Balakrishnan explained that Singapore is exquisitely exposed to external events, pointing to the ongoing conflicts and disruptions to supply chains.
"It's important for us to maintain a very close watch on what is happening, be acutely aware of the dangers, and in some cases, latent dangers that will emerge," he said.
This means engagements will necessarily have to cover the major and middle powers, and even smaller countries.
"So this is a constant. This is the karma for being Singapore," Dr Balakrishnan said.
On Canada, he noted that the Canadian leadership is focused on expanding both its transatlantic and transpacific opportunities amid its trade tensions with the US.
Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada has secured an offer to become the European Union's first associate member, while applying to join the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force military coalition.
Dr Balakrishnan pointed out that regardless of its situation with the US, Canada is a superpower in energy, both fossil fuels and renewable energy. It also has strength in artificial intelligence, particularly in the academic and scientific aspects.
"It's got technologies and potential for renewable energy. It's also a source of food, and will play an increasingly important role for food security, not only within North America but across the world — both transatlantic and transpacific," he said.
During his visit, Dr Balakrishnan and Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand signed a joint statement to set out the two country's commitment to deepen cooperation in emerging technologies, energy and food security, two-way investment, supply chain resilience, and public service cooperation.
Dr Balakrishnan said he hopes to get the framework ready within the next few months.
"We were really looking for complementarities between Canada and Singapore, and I think this will give us many opportunities, including for Singaporean companies who want to invest in Canada, or who want to take advantage of the complementarities in our economy."
The two foreign affairs ministers also discussed opportunities to strengthen Canada's ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during Singapore's chairmanship in 2027, which also marks the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Canada Dialogue Relations.
This includes working towards the conclusion of negotiations on the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement.
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