Since his inauguration last Wednesday (15 May), Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has been inundated with congratulations from world leaders.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Indonesian President-Elect Prabowo Subianto and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio have called to congratulate him on his new role, said Mr Wong in a Facebook post. “I look forward to working with them to boost bilateral and regional cooperation,” added Mr Wong.
In celebration of this historic occasion, here’s a snippet of who said what.
China
According to Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, whom Mr Wong met late last year, said that China attaches great importance to its relations with Singapore. In addition, Mr Li also expressed his willingness to maintain close communication to promote high-quality cooperation.
ASEAN
Besides Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi and International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz have also extended their congratulations to Mr Wong.
“Malaysia and Singapore have been solid trade and investment partners for a long time…all the best to Lawrence Wong and his cabinet,” said Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who has known Mr Wong for some time.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin shared that he is confident that Singapore will continue to prosper under Mr Wong’s leadership. “I look forward to working with you to further strengthen the close friendship and cooperation between our two countries,” added Mr Srettha.
India
Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared that he is looking forward to working with Mr Wong to “further advance our strategic partnership”.
UK and Europe
In a congratulatory letter to Mr Wong, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) Rishi Sunak reiterated how Singapore remains one of the UK’s most important partners in Southeast Asia.
“There is enormous potential for our two countries to achieve even more together, building on our countries’ complementary strengths and deep foundation of trust and respect…I am confident that together we will ensure our partnership delivers ever more for our citizens,” wrote Mr Sunak.
On behalf of the European Union (EU), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a letter to Mr Wong that he can “count on a robust EU-Singapore relationship” which has been strengthened over the years.
US
Across the Pacific, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Wong to further strengthen the U.S.-Singapore strategic partnership. “We will also continue to bolster our strong economic, security, and people-to-people ties for the benefit of the American and Singaporean peoples.”
Australia
Down Under, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that he looks forward to working with Mr Wong to advance bilateral ties. In addition, he also thanked former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for his “for his generous support to the Singapore-Australia relationship.”
Boosting bilateral ties and cooperation will be high on Mr Wong’s agenda. And for now, he is off to a good start. As Mr Wong has said, “There’s much we can do with like-minded countries to achieve win-win outcomes and steer developments towards continued peace, stability and prosperity for Asia and the world.”
Slowly but surely, we are confident that this new leader will elevate Singapore’s international standing to greater heights.
Photo Source: Lawrence Wong via Facebook/ MFA
