Toast Speech by PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Official Lunch in honour of Thai PM Srettha Thavisin (Oct 2023)

Your Excellency Srettha Thavisin

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Prime Minister Srettha and your distinguished delegation to Singapore. The Prime Minister and I spoke over the phone in August, shortly after he became PM. I am very happy that he has been able to accept my invitation to make an Official Visit to Singapore so soon.

Thailand and Singapore share a close historical relationship. In 1871, when his Majesty King Chulalongkorn made his first overseas visit, it was to Singapore. His Majesty gifted Singapore a bronze statue of an elephant, as a symbol of the friendship between our two countries. This bronze elephant statue still stands proudly today outside our Old Parliament House.

Our countries continue to be bound by close ties. Economically, our relations are substantial. In 2022 last year, Singapore was Thailand’s 8th largest trading partner while Thailand was Singapore’s 9th largest trading partner. And the Bilateral trade increased by nearly a quarter, year-on-year to S$42.1 billion. In fact, bilateral trade increased successively over the last two years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Singapore was also the second highest source of foreign direct investment into Thailand for the first half of 2023.

There are many further promising areas of economic cooperation that we can pursue. For example, the Digital Economy. Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay launched a cross-border fast payment system in April 2021, a world first. And we welcome Thailand’s interest to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), which will facilitate Thai businesses’ participation in the Digital Economy and create further growth opportunities that will benefit both countries. Another promising area is the Green Economy. I thank Thailand for participating in the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project. I look forward to building on this momentum to strengthen energy collaboration with Thailand, which will unlock ASEAN’s potential for cross-border renewable energy trade. Our two countries should also cooperate further in carbon trading, to benefit from green growth opportunities while contributing to the global climate agenda.

In the field of defence, Singapore and Thailand cooperate closely too. Our militaries have a very well-established working relationship. It dates back almost half a century, to the days when I used to be serving in the Singapore Armed Forces and even before that. So I thank Thailand for hosting our training, Air Force, Army, Special Forces, for many many years.

Our two countries also share close people-to-people ties. I am happy to see the growing partnerships between our educational institutions, and to see more young Singaporeans visiting Thailand for internship opportunities. Our tourism has been recovering steadily since the pandemic. Nearly 350,000 Thais have visited Singapore so far this year. And Singaporeans also love visiting Thailand – for the beautiful cities, the beaches, the vibrant culture, and especially the food.

Our two countries also share strong diplomatic ties. We work closely together in regional and international fora, especially in ASEAN, where we are both founding members. There are various bilateral platforms such as the Thailand-Singapore Civil Service Exchange Programme (CSEP) and the Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Economic Relationship (STEER) Ministerial Meeting, that help to push the bilateral relationship forward.

So, overall, Singapore and Thailand enjoy a very substantive partnership, and I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Srettha and his government to enhance this even further.

Prime Minister, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. May I now invite you to join me in a toast to the continued good health and success of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn; to the peace, progress and prosperity of Thailand; and to the enduring friendship between our two countries.

Cheers, thank you very much.