SM Lee Hsien Loong at the Ceremony Conferring the Order of Dostyk (Friendship) of the First Class in Astana, the Republic of Kazakhstan

Your Excellency President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you, President Tokayev for conferring the Order of Dostyk of the First Class to me.

I am deeply honoured to receive this award. I accept it on behalf of the many Singaporeans and Kazakhs who have worked to bring our countries closer together over the past three decades.

A Friendship Built Over Time

Singapore and Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations in 1993, but the friendship stretches back further. Three months before Kazakhstan gained independence in December 1991, then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited Kazakhstan at the invitation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Mr Lee addressed the Kazakhstan Supreme Soviet, sharing Singapore’s developmental experience and his perspectives on making the transition to a market economy. That was a significant exchange between two very different and distant countries, and it began a relationship which has endured and grown.

President Tokayev, you personally have a longstanding connection to Singapore: You served as a young Soviet diplomat in Singapore in the 1970s, and since then have visited Singapore many times in different capacities. In 2016, as Chairman of the Senate, you visited Singapore and met Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. Later that year, Mr Goh visited Kazakhstan where you kindly invited him to address the Senate on Singapore’s development experience.

Successive leaders on both sides have kept up the relationship. We exchanged State Visits in 2023 and 2024. And our Parliamentary leaders exchanged visits in 2024 and 2025, and each engagement brought our countries closer together. Today I am glad to do my part.

A Growing Partnership

Kazakhstan is Singapore’s largest economic partner in Central Asia.

Our ties have grown in recent years. The entry into force last year of the Kazakhstan-Singapore Services and Investment Agreement was a milestone. It will encourage our companies to trade, invest and do more business with one another. In Almaty earlier this week, I met business representatives from both countries. I was happy to learn about their interest in doing more with each other, including in trade and logistics, as well as in urban development.

Our cooperation extends beyond commerce. Singapore and Kazakhstan have worked together for many years on human resource development and capacity building. For example, the Nazarbayev University has a longstanding partnership with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) in Singapore, and they have been training Kazakh officials in leadership and governance. And for a good ten years, the Dean of NU's Graduate School of Public Policy was a Singaporean from the LKY School of Public Policy. Another Singaporean currently serves as NU’s Vice President and Dean of its School of Medicine.

We are now expanding into new areas of co-operation, including water management, digital development, as well as scientific and research exchanges.

In all these diverse areas, we have found practical opportunities to take advantage of our complementary experiences and capabilities.

Connecting Our Regions

Looking ahead, there are many more opportunities to do so.

Singapore and Kazakhstan could hardly be more different geographically, and yet both our countries seek to integrate within our regions, build friendships beyond, and stay connected to the world. Singapore can be a gateway for Kazakhstan and Central Asian businesses seeking opportunities in Southeast Asia. Kazakhstan can likewise be an important bridge for Singapore businesses looking towards Central Asia and the wider Eurasian region.

As ASEAN Chair next year, Singapore looks forward to creating more opportunities for ASEAN to engage partners beyond our traditional networks. We will explore how Southeast Asia and Central Asia can work more closely together. For example, in transport, connectivity, energy and sustainable development.

Conclusion

President Tokayev, you invited me to visit Kazakhstan some years ago. I am very glad I have now been able to take up your invitation, and to see for myself a small bit of this vast and remarkable country at the heart of Central Asia. Our conversations have strengthened my conviction that we can do much more together. I am confident that the next generation of Singaporeans and Kazakhs will take this relationship further still.

I understand that Dostyk means Friendship in the Kazakh language. I can think of no more appropriate name for what Singapore and Kazakhstan share together.

I therefore accept the Order of Dostyk, the First Class, with deep gratitude.

And thank you once again, President Tokayev and the Government and people of Kazakhstan. As one Kazakh saying goes, “May guests and joy never leave your home.”