Remarks by President Tony Tan Keng Yam at the Reception for Indonesian Alumni of Singapore Institutes of Higher Learning & Singapore-Indonesia Training & Exchange Programmes

Mr Anil Kumar Nayar 
Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

        Good evening.

        My wife, Mary, and I are delighted to be in Indonesia for our first State Visit. It is an even greater pleasure to be at this gathering with all of you. Many of you are alumni of Singapore institutes of higher learning and training programmes. Some of you are recipients of scholarships from Singapore. Regardless of your links with Singapore, we are happy to have been part of your lives and we welcome you warmly this evening.

        Over the years, I have visited Indonesia on many occasions. Each time, I have been struck by the progress this country has made and the dynamism of its people. Today, Indonesia’s economy is growing at an impressive rate despite the global economic slowdown. Indonesia is a leading voice in ASEAN and a member of the G-20. Indonesia’s growth story is an inspiration.

        Singapore-Indonesia relations are excellent and broad-based. When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and I met earlier this week, we reaffirmed the strong ties between our two countries. Our economic cooperation is robust. In fact, Singapore has been Indonesia’s largest investor for the past three years. Defence ties are also strong.  There are links between government agencies at all levels. Indonesia and Singapore cooperate closely in ASEAN. We agree on the importance of working together to achieve ASEAN’s goal of establishing an ASEAN Community by 2015. A more integrated and connected ASEAN will allow us all to expand our economies and achieve our common goal of a peaceful and prosperous ASEAN.

        The bilateral relationship is anchored by strong people-to-people ties. In this context, you are all assets to the relationship. Some of you studied or lived in Singapore. Others attended training courses. This includes the almost 5,000 Indonesian officials trained under the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). While you had different experiences in Singapore, all of you were wonderful ambassadors for Indonesia. We Singaporeans learnt a great deal from all of you during your time with us. We hope that you also developed a better understanding of Singapore and its people. We are happy to call you friends.

        I hope that you will keep up your ties with us and continue to keep in touch with your Singaporean friends. The bonds you forge individually will collectively help to enhance the people-to-people ties between our two countries. This can only reinforce our strong bilateral relations.

        Mary and I look forward to meeting all of you this evening. Thank you.