PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Press Conference with Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoğlu (Oct 2014)

Thank you Ahmet. I am very happy to be here to visit Turkey – both Istanbul and Ankara for the very first time. As the Prime Minister has told you, Turkey and Singapore have a very good relationship in many areas. We work together in many fields and we share certain similarities in our strategic situation while also being complementary in a lot of ways. We are at different parts of the world but we see opportunities for us to work together and to cooperate and do more together – which is why our economic ties have been growing, which is also why I have brought a business delegation here with me to explore further trade and investment opportunities in Turkey, and it is why we are discussing and making progress on an FTA between our two countries. We have a high ambition for our FTA. We hope to have a high standard but I am quite sure that between the Turkish officials and mine, we will be able to settle the matter expeditiously and I hope by next year.

I would like to thank the Prime Minister for stating that Turkey intends to invite Singapore for the G20 meeting next year. We would do our best to work with Turkey to help to make the meeting a success, and we look forward to coming and participating in the meeting next year in Antalya, which I am told is a very beautiful city.

In other areas like culture, we have many exchanges too. In Istanbul, I visited the Topkapı Palace, Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia but I remember that some years ago – I checked out how long and it was ten years already – the Topkapı Palace Museum had a traveling exhibition and actually came to Singapore in 2004. I visited the show and was very happy yesterday to have a chance to see the original museum, and the vast riches from which this traveling show was put together. The relations continue. Right now there is a contemporary art exhibition in Istanbul which features Singaporean artists, probably on a much smaller scale than the Topkapi museum but I think there will be further opportunities for Turkish groups to come to Singapore and to perform.

We already have cooperation, as you have seen, between our agricultural authorities, between our research and education authorities – encouraging PhD students to study in one another’s countries, and we also cooperate in international forums. Singapore supports Turkey’s bid for the UN Security Council (UNSC) seat. The vote is in two days’ time and we wish Turkey every success.

As I told the Prime Minister, we will be appointing a resident Ambassador in Ankara from 2015. It is a sign of the importance with which we take the relationship and our intention to grow and develop it further. Thank you.

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