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The Istana
Speeches

Transcript of Toast Speech by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the State Banquet Hosted by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden on Monday, 19 October 2026

19 October 2026

Your Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden,

Your Royal Highnesses,

Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

  1. My wife, Jane, and I, would like to thank Your Majesties for your warm welcome, thoughtfulness and generous hospitality extended to us, and to my delegation.

  2. It is also a great pleasure to be meeting Your Majesty again, following your State Visit to Singapore in 2024, the first by a Swedish King to Singapore. My visit is similarly the first State Visit by a Singapore President to Sweden, and comes as we commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries. It is a timely opportunity to build on our longstanding friendship, and to develop new areas of cooperation.

  3. On a personal note, I have visited Sweden a few times over the years in my previous capacities in Government, to visit your companies and schools, and meet with leaders in government, philanthropic foundations and NGOs like Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and Stockholm Resilience Centre. My last visit was in 2022, not long before I was elected President in Singapore. I admire the country in many regards. Its depth of expertise in various fields, its vibrant start-up culture and its remarkable profusion of unicorns, even as it sustains an egalitarian ethos in society. Sweden’s constructive role in international affairs, shorn of swagger.  Sweden’s efforts to protect the health of the planet and the thought leadership of scientists like Johan Rockstrom, whom I have had the privilege of collaborating with on actions critically needed to preserve the global water cycle. And the commitment of the Swedish people themselves, more than most, to support humanitarian causes abroad.

  4. Like any other society, you have your social challenges that you are making major efforts to address. But there has always been much to learn from Sweden, to observe from your experiments, and to share from ours in Singapore.

  5. Sweden has long been more present in the daily lives of Singaporeans than one might imagine. Many older Singaporeans grew up singing and listening to ABBA, while a younger generation looks out for Zara Larsson, who in fact performed in Singapore earlier this month during the F1 season. Volvo cars and Scania buses run on our roads. And of course, it would be difficult to find many Singaporean homes without something from IKEA in them.

  6. We are both small nations, and intrinsically committed to multilateralism and respect for international law. We both understand the importance of investing in our people, and looking beyond immediate challenges. We both survive and prosper through organisation, innovation, and by adding value to regional and global networks.

  7. Sweden and Singapore have hence found it in our interests to work together over the last 60 years.  As we have done so, we have also come to trust each other.

  8. Your Majesty’s visit to Singapore in November 2024 set the stage for deeper cooperation. We launched new initiatives in a range of areas, including defence technologies, civil aviation, land transport, energy, and healthcare innovation. We have since been turning these commitments into concrete action.

  9. Energy is a good example. Last year, we launched the inaugural Singapore-Sweden Forum during the Singapore International Energy Week. Sweden’s experience with cross-border energy management and regional grid integration is particularly relevant as Southeast Asia develops the ASEAN Power Grid. Our agencies and companies are also working together on low-carbon power generation solutions, including ammonia-fuel-ready power plants. I look forward to learning more about these issues at the Royal Institute of Technology, or KTH, tomorrow.

  10. Our governments, universities and companies are joining efforts in innovation.

    1. Swedish companies have been using platforms such as the Nordic Open Innovation Challenge to test and explore promising solutions in Singapore for the wider Asian region, while Singapore startups are expanding their presence in Nordic markets.  Swedish company RVM System is also one of the Network Operators for Singapore’s Beverage Container Return Scheme, which we just launched this year.

    2. Our innovation ecosystems feed into each other. Yesterday, when I met Singaporeans in Sweden, I spoke with Parvin Kumar, a Singaporean who started IntellAif in Sweden with a Finnish co-founder. IntellAif uses AI to accelerate the translation of research into new therapies. It recently won a top award at a Healthcare Innovation Pitch Challenge hosted by A*STAR in Singapore, and is part of a longevity project led by the Karolinska Institute, funded by Sweden’s Vinnova. IntellAif is an example of how talent and R&D funding from Singapore and Sweden, can come together to address common challenges.

  11. We are also beginning to work together in frontier technologies. with Singapore’s National Quantum Office and ten Swedish research institutes signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on quantum technologies last year. Today, our governments signed a Joint Declaration to deepen cooperation in trusted and innovative technologies, including AI, quantum and 6G.

  12. Our economic ties continue to grow. Swedish companies like Ericsson and Volvo have long-established regional operations in Singapore. More recently, AstraZeneca broke ground in 2024 on a US$1.5 billion facility for the end-to-end manufacturing of antibody drug conjugates – treatments that deliver highly potent cancer-killing agents directly to cancer cells through targeted antibodies – the first such facility for both the company and the global pharmaceutical sector.

  13. And here in Sweden, the Stockholm Metro is ComfortDelGro’s largest passenger rail operation outside of Singapore. Temasek also has long-term conviction in Sweden and Europe, and sees opportunities in the region.

  14. We have also built up a close defence relationship over several decades, through cooperation in defence technology and military exchanges. The expansion of our Defence Technology MOU in 2024 to include collaboration in innovation reflects the trust that has developed over time.

  15. Our academic and research institutions are also deepening their links. During my State Visit, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore will be taking forward new collaborations with the Stockholm School of Economics and KTH.

Your Majesties,

  1. The links between our peoples are reflected in the individuals who have made a lasting contribution in each other’s countries. Professor Bertil Andersson, the Swedish biochemist, is a prominent recent example. As President of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, he helped transform NTU into a leading research university and was instrumental in establishing the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. Bertil’s contributions were deeply valued in Singapore, and he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2017.

  2. Our ties are being carried forward by a younger generation too. Singapore welcomes around 400 Swedish exchange students each year, while Singaporeans are among the largest groups of non-EU exchange students in Sweden. My wife and I met yesterday with many Singaporeans studying. They spoke highly of the academic experience, and the global exposure that they gain in Sweden. Those at the NUS Overseas College in Stockholm especially valued their internships in Swedish start-ups and corporates.

  3. There is one other Swedish connection that has taken root in Singapore: floorball. Not many in Singapore know that the game was developed by Sweden and brought to Singapore’s shores by Filip and Stefan Dahlgren in 1994. It has grown in popularity. Our men’s teams will both be participating in the World Floorball Championships this December.

Your Majesties,

  1. A few days after Singapore declared independence in August 1965, Swedish Prime Minister Tage Erlander sent our founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew a short telegram. It recognised Singapore as a sovereign and independent state, one of the first few countries to do so. The telegram concluded, “Our best wishes for the future of Singapore and for the prosperity of its people.” Simple, but timeless words. Sixty years on, I am pleased to return those heartfelt wishes, for the future of Sweden and for the prosperity of the Swedish people.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

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

    1. To the good health of Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia;

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

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

Skål!