Luxembourg is looking to expand its network of trade and investment offices in Southeast Asia, with Singapore one of the potential locations being considered, the foreign ministry has confirmed.

The director of Luxembourg foreign trade, Pierre Ferring, during a Luxembourg Times event in June had hinted that the Grand Duchy is looking to add more trade and investment offices to its line-up.

The country is currently represented in Southeast Asia with an embassy in Bangkok, Thailand and the Lao capital Vientiane.

“Luxembourg is currently assessing opportunities to expand its network of LTIOs in Southeast Asia, with Singapore under consideration as a potential location,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told the Luxembourg Times by email.

Singapore’s president, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, was welcomed by Grand Duke Henri during an official state visit in March. Finance Minister Gilles Roth travelled to the country last year, and Luxembourg for Finance is a regular guest at the Singapore Fintech Festival.

Singapore is the number one financial centre in Southeast Asia and ranked fourth in the latest Global Financial Centres Index, which saw Luxembourg in 16th place.

Elsewhere in Asia, there are LTIOs in Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo. There is one LTIO on the African continent, in Casablanca, Morocco. Two offices serve the US east and west coasts in New York and San Francisco. And Luxembourg is represented in the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi.

The government recently came under pressure to close the LTIO in Tel Aviv over Israel’s war in Gaza.

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Luxembourg’s trade and investment offices support international businesses looking to launch in the Grand Duchy but also help companies from the country go global by building partnerships in target markets.

An office in Southeast Asia would further cement growing cooperation with the region.

Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel last week paid a visit to Malaysia, the first in ten years by a Luxembourg foreign affairs chief. This followed a trip to Cambodia in April, Laos and Thailand  in 2024 and Vietnam in 2023.

Luxembourg signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) at summit of Asean countries last year, only the sixth EU country to join the treaty on a bilateral basis although the EU as a whole acceded in 2012.