Transcript – Opening remarks – Official lunch
LAWRENCE WONG, ACTING PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE: I’m delighted to welcome Prime Minister Albanese and his delegation to Singapore once again. This is the Prime Minister’s first official visit to Singapore as Prime Minister. But, of course, Singapore is no stranger to him. He has visited Singapore many times in various capacities, in 2014, for example, for the World Cities Summit, in 2017 as a Lee Kuan Yew Exchange fellow, and there was also the occasion when I first met him, when I was then in the Ministry of National Development. The strong and enduring friendship between Australia and Singapore has come a long way. During the Second World War, Australian soldiers fought bravely to defend Malaya and Singapore, with many giving their lives in the battles. When Singapore became independent in 1965, Australia was one of the first countries to recognise us as a sovereign nation. Our strong bilateral cooperation is anchored on a high level of strategic trust developed and strengthened over the decades and it has flourished under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, or the CSP, which was established in 2015. Last year, during the annual leaders’ meeting, both sides signed the Singapore Australia Green Economy Agreement, which was the first for both sides but was also the first of its kind in the world. And we are now collaborating on supply chain resilience including food security, energy security, connectivity, and crisis response. In fact, the fish on today’s menu is from an aquaculture farm in Singapore grown from fry imported from Australia. Of course, the wine is from Australia too. Singapore and Australia are partners that have supported each other in times of need. For example, in the early days of the COVID pandemic, while international travel was suspended, we helped to bring each other’s citizens home. We concluded a vaccine swap to support each other’s efforts to fight COVID-19. And more recently, last November, a team of 16 officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force also participated in the flood emergency relief efforts in New South Wales. Our people-to-people ties are strong. Just in the first quarter of this year, some 230,000 Australians visited Singapore, you formed the third largest group of short-term visitors here. Singaporeans, too, are avid travellers, and we make up the fifth largest source of tourists for Australia. So we have some way to catch up because you are third for us but we are only fifth for you. But considering our much smaller population, I think we’re doing reasonably well. More than 60,000 Singaporeans are living working and studying in Australia and thousands of our SAF troops train in Australia every year. Australia has been a longtime friend and steadfast partner to Singapore. We share similar perspectives on the continuing importance of multilateralism, and an open and inclusive rules-based regional architecture for cooperation. And this has enabled us to set new benchmarks for cooperation and jointly launched pathfinders in new areas like the digital and green economies, which hopefully can be scaled up and expanded to other regional countries. We also continue to welcome Australia to play a bigger role in our region and to further contribute to our region’s stability and growth. We are in a troubled world that’s filled with geopolitical uncertainties and tensions. But the strong and enduring partnership between Australia and Singapore gives us confidence to navigate our way through stormy weather and to take our countries forward. In 2025, we will reach the 10-year milestone of our CSP. So we look forward to working with our Australian mates to advance our bilateral cooperation to even greater heights. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, may I now invite you to join me in a toast to His Majesty the King and the people of Australia, the good health and happiness of Prime Minister Albanese and his delegation, the continued peace and prosperity of Australia and of course to the enduring and strong friendship between Australia and Singapore.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, thank you so much Acting Prime Minister Wong for that toast and for your thoughtful reflections. But most importantly for your genuine and warm welcome here to Singapore. And thank you as well for hosting us in what are quite remarkably beautiful surroundings here, both inside this building, but also the grounds as well. Let me take this opportunity as well to wish Prime Minister Lee a speedy recovery. To me this visit feels both new, but it also familiar. My first visit here as the Prime Minister of Australia, but familiar of course, because like so many Australians I have visited Singapore so many times before. I’m advised 16 times by the record keepers here in Singapore, which of course can be trusted for their accuracy. My first visit here was way back in 1986. And I have visited here so many times before, as both a tourist but also as Infrastructure and Transport Minister. I’ve attended so many global cities conferences, ICAO conferences, IACRA conferences, shipping conferences, have all been held here because you are such an important for this region and for the world. But my favourite memory is of visiting here as a Lee Kuan Yew fellow back in 2017, where for a week I benefited from the hospitality and warmth and engagement and education that I received, looking really deeply at the success that is the Singapore story, a successful state that has delivered such extraordinary living standards, that have been at the forefront of so many policy areas for the world. Areas like sustainable cities, water, aviation, and other transport issues including the port here that’s the most efficient in the world, the extraordinary achievements of the Singapore story. But of course, that experience comes down to its people, the resilience and determination and encouragement that now I think we have between our two countries. Allow me to reiterate how much Australia values the strength and depth of our friendship anchored in our shared strategic economic interests, but also in our shared values. I am so looking forward to this evening, the Shangri-La Dialogue, where my keynote address will outline Australia’s vision for the Indo-Pacific region. Singapore and Australia share a vision for the region which is open, stable and prosperous. And when we speak to the region and the world that shared vision, it matters. It matters because both of our countries are significant regional and global actors. Our voices on geopolitics and on the future of the Indo-Pacific region are listened to, in our region and beyond. We’re both – in Australian terms – we’re both straight shooters. We’re just honest and upfront about where we’re coming from and what our values are. And that’s why we have such trust between us. And the benefit of bilateral dialogue, but also our participation in regional and multilateral forums, is that those person-to-person relationships can help reinforce that and deliver that. This is a consequential time for the future of our region. So I have appreciated the opportunity today to talk about how we can move that forward. Our collaboration is built on a foundation of bilateral cooperation that is remarkable. That is clear from the range of topics that were discussed today: defence and security, the green economy, food and energy security, our trading ties. It’s clear to me that this is not a partnership of sitting on our haunches. Neither of our countries tends toward complacency. It’s just not our style. We are nations that act, that build, that innovate, that contribute. So my pledge to you is that Australia is looking into the future in this relationship to new chapters. Our two nations have so much to gain from working together. And I thank you again for your hospitality. And can I propose a toast: to the President and the people of the Republic of Singapore and to the relationship between our peoples from Australia and the people of Singapore. To friendship.