Germany established diplomatic relations with Singapore in the year of its independence. In November 2024, the Heads of Government of the two countries adopted a declaration on strategic partnership, along with a corresponding action plan, which aim to further deepen cooperation in various fields, most notably in the field of cutting-edge technologies. In February 2026, Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited Singapore and launched the joint Year of Innovation together with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan.

Both states consider each other to be important economic partners and also gateways to the EU and the ASEAN region respectively. Singapore hosts a number of trade fairs, at which German companies are well represented.

A bilateral cultural agreement has been in place since 1990. Singapore is home to a branch of the Goethe-Institut and a German Academic Exchange Service Information Point. The first overseas campus of a German university – the Technical University of Munich (TUM) – was set up in Singapore in 2002 (TUM Asia), while Fraunhofer Singapore, the first Asian affiliate of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, opened in 2017. The German European School Singapore (GESS) – the largest German school abroad in Asia – celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2021/2022.