Speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Official Lunch hosted in honour of His Excellency Sukhbaatar Batbold, Prime Minister Of Mongolia, 17 Febuary 2011 at 12.30 pm at The Istana

Your Excellency Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold

Madame Khorloo Otgontuya

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1.        On behalf of the Government and the people of Singapore, let me extend a very warm welcome to Your Excellency, Madame, and distinguished members of your delegation.

2.        Singapore and Mongolia enjoy a long and warm friendship. We celebrated the 40th anniversary of Singapore-Mongolia relations last year. Our bilateral relations have deepened in recent years, with several high level visits to each other’s country. Last November, a Mongolian delegation visited our universities and met with our Members of Parliament. And last month, Singapore’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament Matthias Yao led a delegation to the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Ulaanbaatar, where they met the Mongolia-Singapore Friendship Group, and also called on Your Excellency.

3.        Our two countries also work closely at the ASEAN Regional Forum, the United Nations, and other international fora. Mongolia has consistently supported Singapore’s candidatures to international organisations such as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the Inter­national Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Councils. Mongolia also supported our bid to host the INTERPOL Global Complex. I thank Your Excellency for Mongolia’s steady support in these areas.

4.        Our economic ties are growing steadily. With huge mineral reserves of coal, copper, gold and uranium, the Mongolian economy has the potential to grow rapidly in the coming decade and beyond. This will create more opportunities for businesses on both sides to work together. Your govern­ment’s commitment to private sector-led growth has also attracted more interest from Singapore companies. For example, in 2005 Singapore’s Raffles Education Corpo­ration ventured into Mongolia, and established what was then the first International Degree provider in the country. I am also pleased to learn that Asia Pacific Brewery, the first foreign brewery in Mongolia, has started production of “Brewed-in-Mongolia” Tiger Beer.

5.        We are also keen to promote cultural exchanges with Mongolia. I am happy that tomorrow Prime Minister Batbold will open an exhibition on Genghis Khan at our new ArtScience Museum. In fact, I will be attending the opening of the museum itself later today. The exhibition, which includes over 200 rare treasures from Genghis Khan’s reign, should attract many Singaporean and foreign visitors, keen to learn about this legendary conqueror. Learning more about each other’s culture and heritage will improve our mutual understanding and bring our peoples closer together.  

6.        Singapore also welcomes Mongolia’s continued partici­pation in the Singapore Cooperation Programme. More than 800 Mongolian officials have received training under this programme, in diverse fields such as public administration, education and healthcare. Singapore is a small country with limited resources, but we will do our best to share our experience in areas that are relevant and useful to Mongolia.

7.        The world economy has changed drastically since the 2008 global financial crisis. Like many other countries, Mongolia is readying itself for the future, by promoting international trade, liberalising its economy and attracting foreign direct investment. Under your able leadership and with the strong support of the Mongolian people, I am confident that Mongolia will succeed in its efforts to become a dynamic and thriving economy.

Excellencies

Ladies and gentlemen

8.        May I now invite you to join me in a toast:

To the good health and happiness of Prime Minister Batbold and Madame Otgontuya;

To peace, prosperity and progress for the people of Mongolia; and

To closer relations and friendship between Singapore and Mongolia.

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