PM Lawrence Wong at the Official Dinner Hosted by Lao PDR PM Sonexay Siphandone (Oct 2024)

Your Excellency Mr Sonexay Siphandone
Madame Vandala Siphandone
Excellencies
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to be back in Laos, and I thank Prime Minister Sonexay for the warm and generous hospitality extended to me and the Singapore delegation.

I would also like to congratulate Prime Minister Sonexay on the success of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits. The Summits made good headway in “Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience”, which is the theme of Laos’s ASEAN Chairmanship.

At our bilateral meeting just now, Prime Minister Sonexay and I discussed the progress we have made in advancing bilateral ties, as well as the new areas for cooperation as we celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties.

Connectivity and resilience also lie at the heart of what we aim to achieve together.

Singapore and Laos face geographical constraints. Laos is land-locked, while Singapore is “sea-locked”. So we share a common interest in remaining connected to the region and the rest of the world, and staying resilient in an increasingly volatile world.

Together, we can turn our limitations into strengths, by embarking on win-win projects that benefit both our peoples.

And one major pillar of cooperation is energy connectivity and resilience.

In particular, we have made good progress on the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project.

And step by step, we are putting together an ASEAN Power Grid, which will enhance our collective security, and accelerate our respective green transitions.

During Prime Minister Sonexay’s visit to Singapore in July, we signed an MOU on carbon credits collaboration, and our officials are now working towards a legally binding Implementation Agreement.

When concluded, it will help Singapore meet our climate targets, while catalysing new green investments into Laos.

We have started collaborating on food security, leveraging on each other’s strengths and experiences and we are also building up the resilience of our public health systems together.

As two ‘small countries’ with very similar population sizes, human capital is important for both Singapore and Laos, and we must maximise this precious resource.

So Singapore is happy to have hosted almost 17,000 officials from Laos to date under the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP).

Tonight, I am happy to announce a new Leadership and Governance Training Programme for senior Lao officials.

The programme seeks to share Singapore’s development experience and provide a platform for exchanging best practices.

And I look forward to welcoming the first batch of Lao officials to Singapore next year.

We also have growing people-to-people ties that anchor our friendship.

Many Singaporeans have visited Laos, including to popular tourist destinations like Luang Prabang. And many, especially amongst our youths and student groups, also visit for community and volunteer work.

So I welcome Scoot’s announcement of an increase in the number of flights to Vientiane to four times a week from the current three, from December this year. This will boost two-way travel and forge lasting friendships between our peoples.

I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Sonexay to bring the Singapore-Laos friendship to even greater heights, and to build a better, brighter future for Singapore, Laos, and ASEAN.

Prime Minister Sonexay, Madame Vandala, Excellencies, distinguished guests, may I now invite you to join me in a toast:

To the good health and success of His Excellency President Thongloun Sisoulith;

To the continued good health and success of Prime Minister Sonexay and Madame Vandala;

And to the continued peace and prosperity of Laos, and the enduring friendship between our two countries.

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