Toast Speech by PM Lawrence Wong at the Official Lunch Hosted in Honour of Prime Minister of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul (Nov 2025)

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul,
Mdm Thananon,
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,

I am delighted once again to welcome Prime Minister Anutin and his delegation to Singapore.

And allow me also to convey our deepest condolences on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Queen Mother. Her Majesty’s lifelong service to the people of Thailand will be deeply missed and fondly remembered.

Prime Minister Anutin is a good friend of Singapore’s. In fact, he has many friends here, even amongst our cabinet members. He has visited Singapore many times too in different capacities. But this is his first visit as Prime Minister, and we are honoured that he has decided to visit us early in his term.

Over the past two weeks, Prime Minister Anutin and I have gotten to know each other very well because we have met almost everyday at the side lines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, and at the APEC Summit in Gyeongju. I learnt several things about him. I got to know that he is a fellow musician. And maybe that is why we get along so well. But he is a musician of far bigger talent than me, far more accomplished because he can play the saxophone and the piano. We are unable to see him perform in his trip this time, but maybe the next time you visit Singapore, Prime Minister, we might find opportunities to have a jam together. He is a man with a big heart. Despite his busy schedule, he personally pilots medical flights with the Thai Red Cross to transport donated organs for life-saving transplants! 

And I am glad that Prime Minister Anutin is here now to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic ties between our countries.

His visit caps off a series of high-level exchanges between our countries in this milestone year. Just two weeks ago, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak made his introductory visit to Singapore in conjunction with the Singapore-Thailand Civil Service Exchange Programme. Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn visited twice, in January and August, to engage healthcare, educational and cultural institutions. And we were also honoured to have Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn grace the Singapore National Day Reception organised by our Embassy in Bangkok in August.

These frequent exchanges reflect and reinforce the trust between our countries, which has been the foundation of our strong cooperation. And this morning, Prime Minister Anutin and I agreed to expand the cooperation into new areas, like food security and healthy ageing, and we continued to work together to advance our shared interests, both bilaterally and in ASEAN.

But the Singapore-Thailand relationship is not just about government-to-government projects. It is built on the strong and enduring ties between our people. Thailand is a very popular destination for Singaporeans – we are drawn by your good food, your pristine beaches, and your rich culture and heritage. I hope more Thais will have the opportunity to experience Singapore for themselves too. We are much smaller than Thailand, but we have a distinctive multicultural society and also something to offer here in Singapore. Some of this is reflected in our cuisine, and I hope Prime Minister Anutin will enjoy the Singapore fried hokkien mee, something he told he enjoys in APEC, so we have made special preparation for them, for you, Prime Minister and your delegation today. 

We are also deepening our links in arts and sports. More Singaporeans are taking an interest in Muay Thai – not just for fitness, but also for the discipline and focus that the sport instils. And earlier this year, Singapore hosted our first-ever World Professional Muay Thai Federation Title fight, as part of the 2025 Muay Thai Festival. Thailand continues to be a rich source of inspiration for our arts practitioners. This year, a group of NTU students from our university, they went to Bangkok to produce documentaries on contemporary life in the city. And one of their works even won the best Student Film award at an international film festival!

All these goes to show the rich bonds and the extensive ties between our people. And the bonds between our people are at the heart of our friendship – they are the reason why the Singapore-Thailand relationship remains so warm, so close, and so full of promise for the future.

So Excellency and distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, may I now invite you to stand and join me in a toast. To His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn of the Kingdom of Thailand. To the continued good health and success of Prime Minister Anutin and Mdm Thananon. To the continued peace and prosperity of Thailand and the enduring friendship between our countries.