Singapore - International cooperation

Singapore follows a policy of cooperation with international bodies and the community of nations. Having joined the UN on 21 September 1965, Singapore participates in ESCAP and all the nonregional specialized agencies except FAO, IDA, IFAD, UNESCO, and UNIDO. It is a participant in the Asian Development Bank, the Colombo Plan, the Commonwealth of Nations, and G-77 and has joined the WTO and signed the Law of the Sea. Probably its most important international association is its membership—along with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei—in ASEAN. Singapore has played a leading part in this important regional grouping, which has sought to maximize economic cooperation among its member states, to regularize political consultation on the part of the constituent governments, and to limit foreign political and military interference in the area.