PM Lawrence Wong at the Official Dinner in Honour of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet (Jun 2024)

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet  
Excellencies 
Distinguished Guests 
Ladies and Gentlemen
 
I am happy to host Prime Minister Manet and his delegation today in Singapore.

PM Manet and I have recently assumed leadership in our respective countries. He’s got a headstart over me by a number of months. But as two very new Prime Ministers, we are both very proud to honour the longstanding bilateral ties between our two countries. Next year marks 60 years of strong and fruitful relations, a testament to our friendship and partnership.

The links between our two countries were forged at the highest levels, going back to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and King Norodom Sihanouk who enjoyed a close friendship underpinned by mutual respect.

In fact, one day after 9 Aug 1965, the King sent a telegram to Mr Lee stating that Cambodia officially recognised Singapore’s independence.

And certainly for all of us in Singapore, we will never forget Cambodia’s steadfast support for our sovereignty.

PM Manet himself is familiar with Singapore.

He visited Singapore in June 2018 under the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship Programme.

A year later, he visited again as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

He has made many good friends during these visits, which have contributed to the strengthening of bilateral ties, political trust, and mutual understanding.

Over the decades, our bilateral ties have grown tremendously. It is marked by mutual respect, shared aspirations, and a commitment to regional stability and prosperity.

Trade and investment have been key pillars of our relationship. Singapore was one of the early believers of Cambodia’s potential.

And today, we are now one of Cambodia’s top investors. Our investments span key sectors like real estate, logistics, agribusiness, and finance.

Our economic cooperation has expanded to new areas like renewable energy and carbon credits.

Keppel Energy, with its Cambodian partner Royal Group, has received conditional approval to export one gigawatt of electricity from Cambodia to Singapore.

We have signed an MOU on carbon credits collaboration last year, and we are working on an Implementation Agreement for the transfer of carbon credits.

And recently, Singapore, Cambodia, and Laos established a Working Group to facilitate cross-border electricity trade.

So this is just one example of how cooperation is continuing to grow and expand into new areas.

Such bilateral and multilateral cooperation between our countries contributes to our respective energy transitions and economic goals. They also form an important component of our shared vision of an integrated ASEAN Power Grid, which will strengthen energy resilience and security for the region.

Education and human capital development have also been central to our relationship. Both our countries attach great importance to investing in our people.

Cambodia is now the second largest participant of the Singapore Cooperation Programme. More than 18,000 Cambodian officials have participated so far.

I understand that the feedback from Cambodian participants have been positive, and certainly on Singapore’s part we are happy to share with them our development experience, and to further customise the programmes where necessary so that they are relevant and useful to your needs.

We also enjoy strong cultural and people-to-people exchanges. These are facilitated by direct flights between Singapore and Siem Reap. Many Singaporeans and foreign tourists have flocked from Singapore to visit the magnificent Angkor Wat, and other parts of your beautiful country.

At Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, we now have a special exhibition, put up in collaboration with your Embassy. It showcases a replica of Angkor Wat adorned with over 50 species of Cambodian orchids. And earlier today, we were happy to have a hybrid orchid named in the honour of PM Manet.

Cambodia and Singapore are at different stages of economic development. But as two countries in Southeast Asia, we face common challenges, and we share similar perspectives and interests on many issues.

We both have to navigate a more dangerous and troubled geo-political environment. We both have a stake in making ASEAN a strong and robust grouping in the international arena.

I firmly believe that our two countries can benefit tremendously from greater cooperation. Through ASEAN, we can also work together to maintain stability and peace in the region, and to ensure continued progress and prosperity for our countries and our peoples.

PM Manet has launched the Pentagonal Strategy to steer Cambodia towards becoming a high-income nation by 2050. Singapore stands ready to support Cambodia’s development priorities under this strategy.

I am confident that PM Manet and his team will succeed in his goals for Cambodia’s next bound of development, and I look forward to working closely with him to further strengthen our partnership, and to secure our future in an uncertain world.

Prime Minister Manet, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, may I now invite you to join me in a toast:

To the good health and longevity of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni and Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk;

To the continued good health and success of PM Manet and his delegation;

To the peace, progress, and prosperity of Cambodia; and the enduring friendship between our two countries.

Cheers!