Toast Speech by PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Official Lunch Hosted by the Honourable Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Bill Shorten, Members and Senators of Parliament, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

May I thank the Prime Minister and Mr Bill Shorten, for their very warm remarks, both in the chambers and also here, at lunch. We deeply appreciate the strong bipartisan support for the Singapore-Australia relationship. Which has enabled our cooperation to flourish all these years. I would also like to thank Prime Minister for hosting us to lunch, and for the warm hospitality extended to me and my delegation.

I was very honoured to address the Australian Parliament this morning, and I am very happy to be among friends today. Each of you here shares a connection with both Singapore and Australia. You have all contributed to our good relations.

They say all roads lead to Rome. But in Singapore, several roads lead to Australia. There is a Canberra Road, in Sembawang near the former British naval base, named after H.M.A.S Canberra, the flagship which visited Singapore in 1937, before the war. Australian missionary Sophia Blackmore, the first female missionary sent by the Methodist Church to Singapore She helped to found the Methodist Girls’ School in Singapore in 1887. It happens to be my mother’s school, so it is a good school. Today, the school is at Blackmore Drive, which is named after her. These are just two of the many historical connections between our peoples.

Last year, Singapore celebrated our Golden Jubilee as well as 50 years of diplomatic relations with Australia. We celebrated in a way Australians know best – with 50 Aussie barbeques all over our island, complete with Aussie beer; 50 walls, where Aussie street artists collaborated with Singapore artists to bring public art to our heartlands; and 50 performances, which introduced Australian puppetry and film to Singaporeans. It kept the High Commissioner very busy. And to kick off Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s New Colombo Plan, we had the first four scholars. Four koalas for a 6-month exchange programme at the Singapore Zoo!

Tomorrow, we will mark another milestone in our friendship. We will sign several agreements under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), which will upgrade ourSingapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement, elevate cooperation in defence, innovation combating drug crime and promoting the arts. We have achieved a great deal since we launched the CSP two years ago. Our teams have worked hard and have done very well. In particular, I would like to thank the CSP Coordinating Ministers, Mr Steven Ciobo and his predecessor, Mr Andrew Robb, as well as, my Foreign Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, and the many officials on both sides, from multiple ministries who have worked on the CSP, working out proposals, compromising, collaborating, working across ministries, in order to achieve a national goal and a joint set of national goals for both countries. The CSP will deepen our already strong partnership, and long may our two peoples work with each other, prosper together, appreciate each other and thus, cement our relations for many years to come.

Thank you very much.