Speech By President Tharman Shanmugaratnam At The State Banquet In Honour Of King Carl XVI Gustaf Of Sweden On 19 November 2024 At Raffles Hotel

Your Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1.    Let me begin by extending a very warm welcome to Your Majesty King Carl Gustaf, and to all our friends from the Kingdom of Sweden.

2.    This is a historic occasion. While Your Majesty has visited Singapore before, this marks the first State Visit by a Swedish King to our nation.

3.    Singapore and Sweden are geographically distant, but we share many similarities:  

   1.   We are staunch advocates of multilateralism and a rules-based international order;

   2.    We both seek to constantly innovate and to do well by keeping our economies open;

   3.    Importantly, we are determined to work towards a better tomorrow for our people and the world. 

Strengthening innovation and digital cooperation

4.   We are also partners in many areas, from defence to research and development in various fields, and to education and culture.

5.    But our economic ties are especially strong. More than 500 Swedish companies are in Singapore, and many use us as a base for their regional operations. The large business delegation accompanying Your Majesty underlines the point. 

6.    Singapore companies also see opportunities in Sweden.

   1.    ComfortDelgro has a significant presence through its joint venture with the Go-Ahead Group, and recently won an 11-year contract to operate Stockholm’s metro system.

   2.    SATS will play an integral role in the strengthening of specialised cargo handling capabilities in Stockholm Arlanda airport¹.

   3.    Our start-ups and smaller companies too are exploring the Swedish market and partnerships. Since the Global Innovation Alliance was launched in Stockholm in 2022, it has helped 17 Singapore-based tech startups enter the Swedish market.

7.    I would like to thank Sweden for its early ratification of the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement (EUSIPA). When it comes into effect, the Agreement should boost confidence and facilitate more trade and investment between us. 

8.    Both Singapore and Sweden now see significant opportunity to cooperate in new areas such as the digital economy. Sweden is a world leader in the field. More broadly, you are also among the top three countries in the Global Innovation Index, and the most innovative EU country in the most recent European Innovation Scoreboard. 

9.   Singapore is itself making major moves in digital transformation and the upskilling of our workforce, so as to take productivity higher, create even better jobs, and unleash a new wave of enterprise growth.

10.        In this regard, Singapore and the EU have recently concluded negotiations for a Digital Trade Agreement (EUSDTA). It signals our shared commitment to advancing and shaping the rules for digital trade. And it can also serve as a pathfinder for an eventual ASEAN-EU Digital Trade Agreement.

A shared responsibility for multilateralism and the global commons

Your Majesty,

11.        Singapore and Sweden are kindred spirits in international affairs. As small states, we share a commitment to shaping and maintaining an international order that is not only rules-based, but also fair and just. At a time of profound global uncertainty and deepening divides, this commitment matters more than ever.

12.        We work well together at the United Nations. As fellow members of the Forum of Small States, we seek to ensure that the concerns of small states are heard and addressed. We are also grateful to Sweden for its support for Singapore’s participation in the Arctic Council as an Observer State.

13.        Sweden has consistently punched above its weight in meeting the challenges of the global commons. From advancing peace and security to building a more sustainable world, you are advancing international understanding and action on some of humanity’s most pressing issues.

14.        Singapore, too, is deeply committed to advancing international agreements in support of the same.

    1.    In the critical area of sustainability, negotiations in the UN’s Intergovernmental Conference on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), which were successfully concluded, were presided over by Singapore Ambassador Rena Lee.

15.        Singapore and Sweden are both at the forefront in seeking water solutions.

    1.    The World Water Week in Stockholm each year and the biennial Singapore International Water Week are premier global platforms for sharing and creating solutions for efficient water use and conservation, as well as for tackling the broader challenges of climate and biodiversity.

16.        As we each continue on the sustainability journey, there is much to be gained from collaborating with and learning from each other.

17.        As my co-chair on the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, the Swedish scientist Johan Rockström, puts it, “We’ve moved from a small world on a big planet, to a big world on a small planet”. But we also know the world has to accelerate efforts to sustain the health of the planet, to avoid disastrous and destabilising outcomes for humanity.

Defence cooperation

18.        Our countries also share a close defence relationship, particularly among our navies. Your Majesty is keenly aware of this, as a former naval officer yourself. The collaboration goes back to the 1990s, when Singapore acquired Swedish submarines and mine countermeasures vessels. Our navies continue to interact with each other regularly.

19.        During Your Majesty’s visit, the Singapore-Sweden Defence Technology MOU will be expanded to include collaboration in defence innovation. This will facilitate new collaboration with the start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and universities from both countries, aimed at harnessing dual-use critical and emerging technologies.

Exchanges in arts and culture

20.        I want to mention too that we are grateful for Sweden’s partnership in the arts and culture.

    1.    We read our children Pippi Longstocking, sparking their imagination;

    2.   The older ones immerse themselves in Minecraft, crafting worlds without limits;

    3.    Our homes, meanwhile, are infused with the clean elegance of Swedish furniture and design;

    4.    And we enjoy and share our music on Spotify.

21.        But our cultural connections go beyond the everyday:  

    1.    The first ballet performances by the Singapore Dance Theatre at their 1988 debut reflected training by a Swede, Janek Schergen, who has since become, for several years now, the Artistic Director of Singapore Ballet. Janek has championed Singaporean artists, having produced in particular more than 140 stagings of the late Singaporean choreographer Goh Choo San’s works.

    2.    The Singapore Writers Festival has featured Swedish journalist and documentarian, Marie Nyreröd and writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri.

    3.    Most recently, LASALLE College of the Arts featured works by ceramic artists from Sweden such as the late Mari Simmulson. I understand that Simmulson, along with Ingrid Atterberg, and Hjördis Oldfors, were pioneering women artists in the European pottery world.

Your Majesty,

22.        Your visit to Singapore reaffirms the warm and enduring friendship between our two countries, and sets the stage for broader cooperation in new areas. During your visit, our two countries will sign five MOUs spanning a broad range of sectors.  

    1.    They include healthcare innovation. The National University Health System (NUHS) will partner with Sahlgrenska University Hospital, AstraZeneca, Ericsson and Business Sweden to launch the Global Health Innovation Network (GHIN), which will promote the development and scale-out of novel technologies for advancement of healthcare.

23.       Tomorrow, Your Majesty will be attending the Singapore-Sweden Business Forum and the Healthcare Symposium, as well as engaging university faculty in a discussion on emerging technologies. These elements show the breadth and depth of our collaboration.

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

24.        May I now invite you to join me in a toast:

    1.   To the good health and success of Your Majesty King Carl Gustaf;

    2.   To the continued peace and prosperity of Sweden; and;

    3.    To the enduring friendship and cooperation between Singapore and Sweden.

Skål! 

[1]SATS acquired Terminal & Transporttjänst and APH Logistics in May 2024.