Singaporeans, hold on tight to your passport because it has now become the ‘most powerful’ passport in the world!
According to a global passport ranking index, it has topped the chart after Paraguay removed the visa requirements for Singaporeans.
Singapore passport’s visa-free score is now 159, higher than Germany and Sweden that have a score of 158 and 157 respectively.
US passport have fallen since President Trump took office. It is now on par with Malaysia, Ireland and Canada with a score of 154.
This is a proud moment for all Singaporeans as it is the first time for an Asian country to be holding the most powerful passport in the world.
Singapore-Paraguay relations
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan met the Mercosur Foreign Ministers in Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic during April this year.
The Mercosur has five full member countries (Argentine, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) and two associate members (Bolivia and Chile).
Some background information about this group – it promotes free trade and fluid movement of goods, people and currency.
At the first Mercosur-Pacific Alliance Ministerial Meeting, Minister Balakrishnan met Eladio Loizaga of Paraguay (standing on the extreme left of the picture).
Together with the other ministers, they discussed regional integration efforts and developments. They also expressed support for deeper engagement between Singapore, Mercosur and ASEAN.
Was the meeting so fruitful that it spurred Paraguay to remove the visa requirements for Singaporeans? We have no idea but we would like to believe so.
In case you’re interested to see how the other countries fared in the top 10 passport rankings:
1. 159 – Singapore
2. 158 – Germany
3. 157 – Sweden, South Korea
4. 156 – Denmark, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Japan, United Kingdom
5. 155 – Luxemburg, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Portugal
6. 154 – Malaysia, Ireland, Canada, United States of America
7. 153 – Australia, Greece, New Zealand
8. 152 – Malta, Czech Republic, Iceland
9. 150 – Hungary
10. 149 – Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia
Image credits: MFA and AsiaOne
