Both countries are full members of the Commonwealth of Nations and are marked by historical, cultural, institutional and language ties, extensive people-to-people links, aligned security interests, sporting tournaments, and significant trade and investment co-operation.

The British Armed Forces maintained a presence in Singapore at the request of the founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew for stability reasons and to allow for a gradual transition to independence and self-reliance.

[13] The United Kingdom has completed negotiations to accede to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on 31 March 2023, of which Singapore is a founding member.

Many of the major long-term British investors have increased their footprint in Singapore recently, including Barclays, Dyson, HSBC, Rolls-Royce, Shell and Standard Chartered.

[12] The UK attracts over two thirds of all Singaporean investment into the European Union with a cumulative stock of £20.6 billion with financial and insurance services, real estate and ICT being the most significant sectors.

[12] In 2011, six dignitaries from the United Kingdom visited Singapore, including Peter Ricketts, the national security advisor, in January, Martin Donnelly, BIS permanent secretary, in February, John Aston, FCO special representative for climate change, in March, Jeremy Browne, minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in April, Liam Fox, secretary of state for defence, in June and The Duke of York in September.

[17] In October 2014, Tony Tan made the first official state visit of a president of Singapore to the United Kingdom and was hosted by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Current British Council projects focus on the internationalisation of education, developing young leaders to take action against climate change and the exchange of knowledge and expertise in the arts and creative industries.