Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Abbreviation: MFA; Malay: Kementerian Ehwal Luar Negeri; Chinese: 新加坡外交部; Tamil: வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for conducting and managing diplomatic relations between Singapore and other countries and regions. It is headed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the office currently held by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Logo of the MFA
Agency overview
Formed	9 August 1965 (1965-08-09)
Jurisdiction	Government of Singapore
Headquarters	1 Sherwood Road, Singapore 248163
Employees	1,616 (2018) [1]
Annual budget	466.70 million (est) SGD (2019) [1]
Ministers responsible	Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister Mohamad Maliki Osman, Senior Minister of State Sam Tan, Minister of State Tan Wu Meng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary
Agency executives	Chee Wee Kiong, Permanent Secretary Peter Tan, Deputy Secretary (SE Asia/ASEAN) Ng Teck Hean, Deputy Secretary (Asia Pacific) Ong Eng Chuan, Deputy Secretary (Management)
Child agency	All diplomatic missions of Singapore
Website	www.mfa.gov.sg

Established on 9 August 1965, the Ministry now has 50 overseas missions including 7 High Commissions, 21 Embassies, 4 Permanent Missions to the United Nations, and 17 consulates. Singapore has appointed 31 Honorary Consuls-General/Consuls abroad and has 46 non-resident Ambassadors and High Commissioners based in Singapore. The MFA provides consular assistance to Singaporeans travelling, working and studying overseas. The MFA is currently divided into 11 Directorates which deal with political and economic matters, and 7 Directorates which oversee matters relating to protocol, consular issues and the Singapore Cooperation Programme among others. The Corporate Affairs Directorate oversees organisational and resource management while the Human Resource Directorate and Diplomatic Academy manage the development of personnel and training.

Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with 188 countries. In Singapore, there are 70 resident foreign Embassies and High Commissions, 43 foreign Consulates, and 11 International Organisations based in Singapore. In addition, more than 60 non-resident foreign Ambassadors are accredited to Singapore.