Secondment of Singaporean Public Officers to ASEAN Secretariat in Past Five Years and Plans to Increase Secondments Before, During and After Chairmanship

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) how many Singaporean public officers have been seconded to the ASEAN Secretariat in each of the last five years; (b) what roles have they been working in; and (c) whether there are plans to increase the number of Singaporean secondments at the Secretariat before, during and after Singapore's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027.

Most of the positions in the ASEAN Secretariat are filled via open recruitment. ASEAN Member States can nominate officers to fill leadership positions. These are the ASEAN Secretary-General, which is appointed by ASEAN Member States on a rotational basis, and the four Deputy Secretaries-General (DSGs), which are similarly appointed or openly recruited based on merit, depending on the specific position. Singaporean public sector officers who fill such leadership positions would be considered secondees from the Government. Over the last five years, there has been one such secondee, Mr Satvinder Singh, whom Singapore successfully nominated as the DSG for the ASEAN Economic Community for two consecutive terms through an open and competitive recruitment process. It will be Singapore's turn to appoint the DSG for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community in 2027.

Beyond leadership positions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is exploring additional secondment opportunities for our officers and public officers from other Ministries to the ASEAN Secretariat in the lead-up to, during and beyond Singapore's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027. Such secondments allow us to broaden our experience and knowledge base of international diplomacy and ASEAN tradecraft more widely across the Public Service.