Remarks by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Overseas Singaporean Reception in Cairo, Egypt, on 19 September 2025

1.  Thank you, Ambassador Dominic Goh and your team, for the energy and effort you are putting into strengthening the Egypt-Singapore relationship. And thanks to everyone for coming. I am happy to be here with my wife, Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, and two Members of Parliament Hazlina Abdul Halim and Ng Shi Xuan. 

Growing Bilateral Cooperation

2. Egypt is an old and important friend to Singapore. A leader in the Arab world and the non-aligned movement, Egypt was the first Arab country to recognise our independence in 1965. We subsequently established diplomatic relations in 1966, which means we will celebrate our 60th anniversary next year. 

3.  At first glance, Egypt and Singapore could not be more different. Egypt is the Arab world’s most populous country. Singapore is a small island state, the size of one of the suburbs of Cairo. Yet, as maritime nations we are more connected than is often recognised, from the Suez Canal to the Straits of Malacca and Straits of Singapore. We complement each other in ways that allow us to achieve more together than we could alone. 

4.  Over the decades, we have stood by each other in international fora, sharing common interests in peace, and a stable, rules-based world order. We have also built-up cooperation across many fields – from trade and economic cooperation to education and people-to-people links, to infrastructure cooperation. 

5.  I look forward to my meetings with President Al Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, to discuss new ways to strengthen and expand our cooperation. My delegation and I, along with leading representatives of the Singapore Business Federation, are looking forward to learning more about the opportunities in Egypt. 

6.  Critically too, we share a commitment to inter-faith harmony and understanding. Egypt engages actively in inter-faith dialogue, through initiatives like the Egyptian Family House and educational programmes that focus on promoting co-existence and combating extremism. Al Azhar University is not just a pillar of Islamic scholarship, but also a beacon of tolerance, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence. Many of you here today are students at Al Azhar, which has indeed trained every one of Singapore’s Muftis. There is much we can learn from each other, in the understanding among our different religions, and in how we foster cohesion in multi-religious societies

7. I am looking forward to meeting both the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, His Eminence Prof Dr Ahmed Al Tayyeb, as well as the Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, His Holiness Tawadros II during this visit.

Partners in Humanitarian Relief and Peace

8.  Like Egypt, Singapore is gravely concerned about the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

   1.  Just last week, the UN General Assembly adopted the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. The resolution, tabled by France and Saudi Arabia, was endorsed by Singapore alongside 141 other states. 

   2.  It expressed support for the efforts  to bring about an immediate ceasefire in Gaza leading to a permanent end to hostilities, and the release of all hostages. It also calls for a peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the two-state solution. 

   3.  Singapore has endorsed the New York Declaration in line with our longstanding support for a negotiated two-state solution consistent with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. We support all efforts on the difficult journey towards realising the two-state solution. 

9. In the meantime, we will continue to work with Egypt as Singapore’s key partner in providing humanitarian assistance for Gaza. 

   1.  Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Singapore Government and Singaporeans have contributed nine tranches of aid as well as monetary donations for Gaza, at a total value of over USD 17 million. 

   2.  I would also like to acknowledge the Singaporean Students’ Welfare Assembly in Cairo, which recently raised funds to support needy Palestinian families in Egypt.

Contributing Wherever We Are

10. I am happy to see each of you here, as Singaporeans who are learning about the world and contributing to others. Some are contributing to international efforts here, like Lynn Martin – she has been working as Chief Procurement Officer of the Multinational Force & Observers (MFO) in Cairo since 2019. Lynn manages the entire supply chain and operations for the MFO, allowing the organisation to carry out its essential mission in monitoring the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. 

11.  And we see many young faces from our Al Azhar University student community. I understand that some of you arrived in Cairo just a month ago. Do immerse yourself in the local community and get to know people from diverse backgrounds and places. Enjoy the richness of Egyptian culture, and the vibrance of everyday life in Cairo. 

    1.  Indeed, take the opportunity to read Egyptian writers, who have long been renowned in the world of literature for both their authentic and allegorical stories of the lives of their people. Such as Naguib Mahfouz, who was the first writer in Arabic to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Among other books, his ‘The Quarter Stories’ is a moving chronicle of the diverse world of vendors, mothers and children, barbers and poets living in Cairo’s Gamaliya quarter.  

12.  I hope you will gain new perspectives from your stay in Egypt, something useful which you take back with you back to Singapore – be it as religious teachers who enrich our religious and broader societal discourse, or as scholars who can help strengthen our Singapore's contemporary and evolving multicultural society, or as you forge new career pathways that complement your religious studies. 

13.  Let me conclude by noting that this is a special year for Singapore – our 60th year of independence. It’s a good time to reflect on all these different ways in which Singaporeans in different parts of the world are making an impact –whether in business or non-profit activities, in pursuing humanitarian causes, and in strengthening cultural and people-to-people ties. We are a small country that’s making our presence felt as people who can be trusted, and who always want to do good for the world. And I thank you for that.

14.  To all of you who have taken the time to attend the reception tonight, shukran jazeelan.