The first long trip abroad of his second term of office takes Federal President Steinmeier to Singapore and Indonesia. This is no coincidence, as he emphasizes. He has the problems from Europe with him.

Singapore.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier began a two-day visit to Singapore on Tuesday. To kick things off, he met Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in the Southeast Asian city-state.

It is the first major trip abroad in Steinmeiers second term. The Federal President was re-elected in February. A state visit to Indonesia is on the agenda for Thursday and Friday. The topics of discussion include the Ukraine war and its consequences for the world order. It should also be about shaping economic relations.

"Singapore and Indonesia are close and reliable partners of Germany and Europe," said Steinmeier of the German Press Agency. "They strive, like us, for fair, rule-based trade and are involved in international bodies. And they have taken a clear position on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine." He described the Indo-Pacific region as a region that is important for world trade and at the same time is under pressure in terms of security policy, "particularly in view of an increasingly authoritarian China".

Indonesia currently chairs the Group of 20 Leading Developed and Emerging Markets (G20), Germany holds the G7 Presidency. The federal government invited the state to the G7 summit at the end of June in Elmau, Bavaria. Steinmeier will also meet President Joko Widodo in the capital Jakarta. Before that, he wants to speak to President Halimah Yacob and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Singapore. (dpa)