Toast Speech by President Tony Tan at State Banquet hosted by Myanmar President HE U Thein Sein

Your Excellency U Thein Sein
President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Daw Khin Khin Win

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

        Min-gala-bar. I would like to thank Your Excellency for your very warm welcome and kind remarks about Singapore. My delegation and I are delighted to be in this beautiful country. I have visited Myanmar before, but this visit is special, because it is our first ever State Visit to Myanmar. When I hosted Your Excellency’s State Visit to Singapore in January 2012, Your Excellency told me about the tremendous developments in Myanmar, and invited me and my wife to visit. Mary and I are very happy to see you and Daw Khin Khin Win and we look forward to experiencing first-hand, Myanmar’s many historical charms and scenic beauty.

        Singapore and Myanmar are old friends. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1966, our friendship has grown and matured. Our governments enjoy good cooperation and our linkages are broadening. Our people-to-people ties are also expanding. There is a longstanding community of Singaporeans in Myanmar, while Singapore has a growing community of Myanmar professionals and students. I am heartened to note that Singapore Airlines has recently mounted flights to Yangon. With expanding air links, Myanmar is also becoming an increasingly popular holiday destination for Singaporeans. 

        Blessed with rich natural resources and your young and hardworking population, Myanmar is becoming a promising investment destination. I am confident that Myanmar’s efforts to strengthen your economic infrastructure and legal framework will spur foreign investments into the country. This in turn will bring growth, prosperity and stability.   

Your Excellency,

        I have read with interest the various reform measures that your government has undertaken. I am pleased to be in Myanmar this week to witness the various changes and transformations in your country. As in any reforms of the magnitude that we are witnessing in Myanmar, the road ahead will be filled with challenges. Singapore has been a steadfast supporter of Myanmar’s development. We want to see Myanmar succeed, and are prepared to do whatever is within our means to support this transition towards democracy and steady development. During Your Excellency’s visit to Singapore last year, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Singapore-Myanmar Technical Cooperation Programme (SMTCP). The SMTCP focuses on capacity building in the Myanmar government’s priority areas of economic development, human resource development and public administration. Over the past year, we have conducted 20 courses and study visits for Myanmar Ministers and officials in legal, financial, public housing, urban planning and other sectors. There is more that we can do, especially in supporting Myanmar’s economic development. This is why earlier this afternoon I conveyed to Your Excellency the Singapore Government’s offer to establish a Vocational Training Institute in Yangon. A skilled Myanmar workforce, together with the Myanmar government’s earnest reforms, will be the engines of economic growth. We are also prepared to offer more education cooperation and help empower your young people to build the new Myanmar.

        Beyond our warm bilateral cooperation, Singapore and Myanmar share a common goal of achieving an ASEAN Community in 2015. Myanmar will have the critical task of steering ASEAN towards this goal when it assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2014. Singapore looks forward to working closely with Myanmar to advance our common regional interests for the betterment of our peoples and the region. 

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

May I now invite you to rise and join me in a toast:

• To the good health and continued success of His Excellency President U Thein Sein and Daw Khin Khin Win;

• To the peace, progress and prosperity of the people of Myanmar; and

• To the enduring friendship between Singapore and Myanmar.