Singapore, Thai leaders pledge cooperation in digital economy, food security, tourism
Ongoing Myanmar crisis also features heavily on first day of Asean Summit in Laos
[VIENTIANE] The leaders of Singapore and Thailand have agreed to deepen cooperation in various areas such as the economy, tourism, defence and food security.
These were discussed on Wednesday (Oct 9) after a meeting between Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Laos.
This was their first in-person meeting since they took office this year – PM Wong became the Republic’s fourth prime minister in May, while Paetongtarn, 38, became her country’s youngest ever leader in August.
Paetongtarn sought Singapore’s support in the areas of digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transportation, as well as in the export of Thai agricultural and food products such as organic eggs and pork.
Tourism – a main driver of the kingdom’s economy – was also brought up, said a Thai government spokesperson in a statement.
On defence, both countries agreed to expand joint military exercises and continue cooperating in cybersecurity, according to a press release on the Thai Government House’s website.
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Paetongtarn was quoted as saying that she was ready to welcome Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to Thailand in 2025 – the year that the two South-east Asian countries celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Singapore is Thailand’s second-largest foreign investor after China, with a total investment value of 123.4 billion baht (S$4.8 billion) in 2023.
Thailand is also the Republic’s ninth-largest trading partner in merchandise from January to August this year, according to data from the latter’s Department of Statistics.
In addition, the kingdom is the only country with which Singapore has a depositary receipt linkage – the first such scheme between two South-east Asian bourses.
This means that local investors can buy direct exposure to the largest listed companies on each other’s domestic bourses. There are currently 14 such depository receipts linked to blue-chip companies, such as Singapore Airlines and Thai food retailer CP All.
Other bilateral meetings
PM Wong met Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the inaugural Annual Leaders’ Meeting and said he was looking forward to upgrading relations between their countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
This will deepen their collaboration in pivotal new areas, including renewable energy, carbon credits and food security, PM Wong added in a social media post.
He also caught up with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday, and discussed bilateral issues as well as strengthening their nations’ multifaceted cooperation.
In a post on X, the Singapore leader said both parties will meet again later this year in Malaysia for a leaders’ retreat between the two countries.
Packed agenda
The opening day of the 44th and 45th Asean Summits in the Lao capital Vientiane was an extremely busy one for the bloc’s leaders.
The summits opened with a red-carpet walk-in by the leaders in the morning and handshakes with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. They then attended an opening ceremony, a plenary session and a retreat – all before lunch.
In remarks at the summit, PM Wong said that the Asean bloc must “redouble efforts” in the areas of the green and digital eonomies.
He highlighted earlier efforts in these spaces, notably the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement that will be concluded by next year, the launch of a regional guide on AI governance and ethics, and the establishment of an Asean cybersecurity emergency response team in Singapore.
On the green economy front, he said: “Asean needs to grow, but we must also grow with less emissions than before.”
He added: “It is not easy for us to do this as individual countries, but as a group, we can move much faster. In particular, the Asean power grid will give every Asean country a way to achieve our sustainable goals.”
Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Laos are involved in a power integration project that marks the first collaboration among four Asean member states on multilateral cross-border electricity trading.
In 2022, Singapore began importing up to 100 megawatts of renewable hydropower from Laos, via Thailand and Malaysia, using existing interconnectors.
Last month, Singapore doubled the power import capacity, with additional supply coming from Malaysia.
Earlier in July, it was reported that plans to extend the scheme were in gridlock as the countries could not come to a consensus on transmission costs.
Myanmar crisis dominates talks
The ongoing Myanmar crisis took centre stage on the first day of the summit, with Asean leaders discussing ways to put an end to the conflict that began in 2021 and which has displaced millions of people.
Myanmar has been in turmoil ever since the military ousted an elected civilian government, setting off nationwide protests and yanking the country into civil war.
This year, Myanmar sent a representative to the Asean Summit for the first time since its junta leaders were barred in the wake of their failure to implement a peace plan that they had agreed upon with fellow member states. The military, in protest, had refused to send representatives following the ban.
At a separate session at the summit, PM Wong reiterated the importance of upholding the five-point consensus and noted that Asean cannot afford to return to “business-as-usual” with the embattled country.
“There has been no political progress and, in fact, the fighting in Myanmar has worsened,” he said.
“We have to be realistic about what Asean can do, and, at the same time, patient and steadfast in pursuing efforts towards peaceful resolution.”
Paetongtarn also spoke up on Myanmar, noting that the crisis is a “high-priority issue” for Thailand and that Asean should “send a unified message to all parties in Myanmar that there is no military solution”.
On its part, Thailand has offered to host an “informal consultation” of Asean in December to find a solution to the crisis, reported Reuters on Wednesday.
More high-level meetings
The leaders’ schedules on Thursday are expected to be just as packed, with a slew of meetings between Asean and its external dialogue partners set to take place.
Asean leaders are expected to meet their counterparts from China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, India and Canada, before being hosted to a gala dinner by Sonexay in the evening.
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