Toast Speech by President S R Nathan at the State Banquet held in honour of Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič and Mrs Silvia Gašparovičová

Your Excellency President Ivan Gašparovič
Mrs Silvia Gašparovičová
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen

1  It is with much pleasure that my wife and I extend a warm welcome to President Ivan Gašparovič, Mrs Silvia Gašparovičová, and their distinguished delegation to Singapore. Mr President, your visit to Singapore is the first by a Slovak President. Singapore is indeed honoured to have you here on a State Visit.

2  Your Excellency’s visit underscores the importance that the Slovak Republic attaches to its relationship with Singapore. As small States, Singapore and the Slovak Republic share many similarities and concerns. Compared to larger States, the means and resources at our disposal, as small States, are rather limited. In an international system where size and power still matter, we do not find it easy to make our mark and have our views and concerns fully taken into account. This is one of the key reasons why, in 1992, Singapore established the Forum of Small States (FOSS) in New York, as a caucus amongst the smaller member states of the United Nations, which now counts close to 100 members. In the FOSS, we are happy to work on issues of mutual interest with the Slovak Republic, which is our “immediate neighbour” according to the UN General Assembly’s alphabetical seating order. By fostering common positions on issues of importance and mutual concern and pooling together our collective strength, we speak with a louder voice. In co-operating to render mutual support for one another’s candidatures in the international fora, small States like us increase significantly our chances of being elected and thus enabling us to play their rightful role in these fora. Singapore is pleased that the Slovak Republic was elected a year ago to serve on a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2007, and warmly applauds the Slovak Republic for its contributions to the work of the Security Council.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

3  The Slovak Republic has come a long way since its establishment in 1993. It has mastered a difficult transition to a modern market economy, and has joined the European Union in 2004. The Slovak people deserve to be proud of their achievements. Along with the other newer members of the EU, your economy has been growing rapidly for several years, and you have seen an increase in foreign direct investment. Yet, as a small State, we know that we cannot afford to be self-satisfied and complacent. In this globalised and increasingly competitive world, we must constantly keep working hard to improve ourselves and our economies, or risk finding ourselves overtaken by others.

4  We welcome the business delegation that Your Excellency has brought on this trip to Singapore. We certainly look forward to opportunities to build up our bilateral trade and investments and further grow our economies. I wish all the members of your business delegation every success in networking and finding partners with Singapore companies, and opportunities to invest in each other’s economies, and complement each other in joint ventures in our respective regions. Since our business people on each side know their own region well, through leveraging on each other and with their combined local knowledge, they can significantly expand their reach into new markets for their goods and services.

5  The Slovak Republic is situated in a European Union of 457 million people.  Singapore is in ASEAN, with its 558 million people. Singapore is also located between two economic powerhouses, India and China. Altogether, even without including the rest of Asia and Australasia which Singapore is also closely linked to economically, there is already a combined population of 3 billion people. Many Singapore companies who have been investing and operating in Southeast Asia, China and India are quite familiar with these markets and environments. We believe that there is much to be gained through further developing our bilateral ties, not just in the economic area, but also in the political, educational and cultural fields for the further consolidation of Singapore-Slovak relations as a whole.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

6  May I now invite you to join me in a toast to:
• the continued good health and happiness of President Ivan Gašparovič and Mrs Silvia Gašparovičová,
• to the continued peace and prosperity of the people of the Slovak Republic, and
• to closer relations between the Slovak Republic and Singapore.