PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Official Lunch hosted in honour of Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva (Jun 2009)

On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Singapore, it is my pleasure to warmly welcome Prime Minister Abhisit and the Thai delegation.

Singapore and Thailand are old friends. Our bilateral exchanges flourished as early as in the 19th century when ships laden with goods traversed the trading route between Singapore and Siam. This strong trading and economic cooperation continues even today. The elephant statue presented to the people of Singapore by King Chulalongkorn during his first overseas visit as King to Singapore stands majestically outside the Old Parliament Building. It is a symbol of the enduring relationship between our two countries.

Strong Bilateral Relations

Thailand and Singapore continue to enjoy warm and close relations at all levels. In April, we were honoured to receive Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in Singapore at President S R Nathan's invitation. During the visit, Her Royal Highness was also Guest-of-Honour at the 3rd annual International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology.

Our relations are also underpinned by strong ties between our officials, cultivated through broad institutional linkages such as the Thailand-Singapore Civil Service Exchange Programme (or CSEP) and the Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Economic Relationship (or STEER). This year, Singapore will host the 9th CSEP coordinating meeting and the 3rd STEER meeting. We should keep up the momentum of these exchanges to forge closer linkages between our officials.

Our partnership continues to broaden and deepen. Bilateral trade is growing steadily, and was about S$35 billion last year. We should continue to expand trade and investment cooperation. We can also collaborate to promote tourism in our countries, for example, through joint marketing and cruise tourism.

Our defence relations are longstanding and substantial, involving frequent high-level exchanges and regular training exercises. In terms of security cooperation, I am pleased to note Thailand’s participation in the Malacca Straits Patrols since September 2008. Through our combined efforts and vigilance, we can enhance the safety and security of this important maritime artery.

Our bilateral ties are made more robust by strong people-to-people ties. Singaporeans and Thais are frequent visitors to each other’s countries. There is also a vibrant Thai community in Singapore.

Enhancing Bilateral and Regional Cooperation

In this globalised world, countries’ futures are increasingly intertwined. The problems we face today, like the global economic crisis, influenza A(H1N1) and terrorism, respect no boundaries. All nations must work together to tackle them. Our two countries must also bolster our cooperation, bilaterally, regionally as well as internationally.

One important area is to cooperate actively in ASEAN. Singapore will work closely with Thailand as the ASEAN Chair to strengthen the organisation. We need to implement the ASEAN Charter expeditiously, and make steady progress on ASEAN integration. We must focus our energies in the coming months to ensure a productive meeting at the ASEAN Summit in October. This will help advance ASEAN projects and reaffirm ASEAN’s international standing. Together, we can work for a peaceful and prosperous Southeast Asia that is fully engaged with the major powers.

There is much to be done. This visit by Prime Minister Abhisit is an opportunity to further enhance our partnership, discuss responses to the regional and international problems, as well as find ways to work together for mutual benefit.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would now like to propose a toast to His Excellency Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his delegation and to our continued friendship and cooperation.