Speech by President Tony Tan Keng Yam at the State Banquet hosted in honour of His Excellency Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, President of the United Mexican States, and Mrs Margarita Zavala Gomez Del Campo

Your Excellency President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa
President of the United Mexican States

Mrs Margarita Zavala

Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

        It gives me great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to President Calderon, Mrs Magarita Zavala, and your accompanying delegation to Singapore. This is in fact not President Calderon’s first visit to our country. Your Excellency’s last visit to Singapore was in 2009 to attend the APEC Summit. I was also informed that when Your Excellency was in Harvard, several Singaporeans were among your schoolmates, a few of whom have joined us at this banquet. Therefore this evening, besides receiving a State Visit by the President of the United Mexican States, we are renewing our relationship with a friend of Singapore.

        Diplomatic relations were first established between Singapore and Mexico in 1975. In the past 37 years, both Singapore and Mexico have been through many changes. Mexico today is a completely different place than it was during my own visit there in 1991, with our then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. In the years that both Mexico and Singapore have developed and progressed as nations, we shared the same deep belief in the independence of sovereign states and the conduct of foreign policy based on mutual respect between friends. Both our countries have reached out and built connections between the countries in our respective regions and across regions. On our part, Singapore was a founding member of ASEAN, and has contributed to the strengthening and building up of organisations like the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), the Global Governance Group (3G), APEC, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Similarly, Mexico was a founding member of global and regional international organisations such as the United Nations, the Organisation of American States, the Rio Group, and most recently, the Pacific Alliance. 

        Under the leadership of President Calderon, Mexico successfully hosted the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 16th Conference of the Parties (COP-16) in Cancun in 2010 and the G20 Leaders Summit in June this year. Mexico’s effective steering of the COP-16 served to restore the Parties’ trust in the multilateral process and helped launch negotiations on a new global agreement to be adopted no later than 2015 and to take effect in 2020. As Chair of the G20, Mexico made significant efforts to reach out to non-G20 countries to engage diverse voices in open and inclusive discussions. In this regard, Mexico and Singapore have both worked to build links and strengthen networks between countries, in the common conviction that bridges are better than barracks, and differences can be overcome by sincere efforts at dialogue and mutual understanding.

Your Excellency,

        Of the many links that can be built between countries and regions, trade is one of the most important. Economic activity gives substance to ties, and provides concrete incentives to maintain and strengthen links. Today, these links are more relevant than ever. Historians have noted that Latin America and Asia have a shared history dating back to the Age of Exploration, in which entrepôt trade saw inter-regional flows of resources, commodities and peoples. In recent years, Latin America and Asia have emerged as two major engines of growth in an otherwise sluggish global economy.  Latin America as a region is forecasted to grow 3.4% this year, while Asia is expected to grow 4.8%. Against the backdrop of the uncertainty in global growth, there are strong incentives for our two regions to further mutual engagement and explore untapped opportunities. Despite calls for protectionism by some countries, Mexico and Singapore have continued working within and across our regions to be voices of support for free trade and for open markets. Mexico will soon be a partner for Singapore in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a high-ambition and comprehensive trade agreement that will bring us closer towards the eventual goal of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific. I am also encouraged that Mexico, along with its founding partners in the Pacific Alliance, has declared that greater engagement with Asia is a key priority for the Alliance.      

        Bilaterally, the robust partnership between our two countries has grown in recent years. Mexico is now among Singapore's top trading partners in Latin America, with bilateral trade volumes increasing by an impressive 60% from 2010 to reach S$5.36 billion in 2011. Mexico is also one of the top destinations for Singapore's investments in Latin America. As of 2010, Singapore's total investment in Mexico amounted to S$1 billion.  There are about 40 Singaporean companies with a presence in Mexico, including Temasek Holdings, Keppel Corporation, and Banyan Tree. Other Singaporean companies such as PSA International and Sembcorp are actively looking at opportunities in Mexico. We are looking at additional areas of cooperation between Singapore and Mexico, such as in science and technology and biomedical sciences. I am confident that the scope of our cooperation can only continue to grow.

Your Excellency,

        Your visit to Singapore is a milestone in bilateral relations between Mexico and Singapore.  The friendship between Mexico and Singapore is an established friendship that has stood the test of time. It is said that the road to a friend's home is never long. Although an ocean divides us, Your Excellency will always have friends in Singapore who hold you and your country in high esteem. I am confident that Mexico and Singapore will continue to work together to build bridges across the Pacific and I look forward to furthering the cooperation between our two countries.    

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

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

• The continued good health and success of His Excellency President Calderon and Mrs Zavala;

• The continued peace, progress, and prosperity of the Mexican people; and

• The lasting and close friendship between Mexico and Singapore.