Remarks by President Tony Tan at the Reception for Overseas Singaporeans in Poland

Minister S Iswaran and Mrs Iswaran

Minister Josephine Teo

Ambassador Loo Choon Yong and Mrs Loo

Members of Parliament Henry Kwek and Sun Xueling

Fellow Singaporeans and Friends

Ladies and Gentlemen 

A very good afternoon to all of you.  My wife, Mary, and I are delighted to be at this gathering. I am glad that you are able to join us today, and would especially like to thank those who had travelled from cities outside of Warsaw for this reception.  

Joining us at this reception today are representatives from Singapore companies who either have existing business operations in Poland, or are interested in exploring opportunities in the Central and Eastern European region.  It shows that the Singaporean entrepreneurial spirit is well and alive in this part of the world. 

Singapore’s ties with Poland go back almost 50 years.  In 1966, three years before Singapore established diplomatic relations with Poland, our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew visited Poland as part of a Goodwill Mission to Eastern Europe, accompanied by then-Foreign Minister S Rajaratnam, then-Minister for Social Affairs Othman Wok and then-Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs S R Nathan.  Some Poles also contributed to our nation-building, such as an architect Krystyn Olszewski, who was the Chief Designer of the team that developed Singapore’s first Concept Plan in 1971.

Over the years, ties between Singapore and Poland have gradually strengthened.  Last year, bilateral trade was almost S$1 billion, more than double from ten years ago.  There is mutual interest to do more.  The Polish Investment and Trade Agency, or PAIH, just set up its first Southeast Asian Trade office in Singapore in December 2016. On our part, Singapore is in the midst of appointing an Honorary Consul-General in Warsaw, who will play a role in facilitating Singapore’s business interests, among other things, in Poland.  Tomorrow, three MOUs will be signed – two between PAIH, Singapore Business Federation and IE Singapore which will strengthen economic ties and facilitate more business-to-business collaboration; and one between A*STAR and the Polish National Centre for Research and Development which will promote greater exchange and sharing of scientific knowledge.

People-to-people ties between Singapore and Poland are also growing. Singapore universities have exchange programmes with many of Poland’s top universities. Indeed, some 30 students from NUS and SMU are currently on exchange visits in Poland at the Kozminski University, University of Economics in Katowice, Jagiellonian University, and the Warsaw School of Economics, just to name a few.  In turn, Singapore universities played host to 30 Polish students last year, in faculties such as architecture, business and accountancy.  

The Singaporean community in Poland is a small one.  But this is not a bad thing in itself.  With its smaller size, it is easier for Singaporeans based here to know one another well and stay as a close-knit group.  And every Singaporean in Poland plays an even more important role of being Poland’s window into Singapore. In other words, all of you are our ambassadors. 

Let me conclude by wishing all of you every success in your endeavours.  Mrs Tan and I look forward to hearing about your experiences in Poland later during the reception.

Thank you and have a good afternoon.