Singapore, Thailand to strengthen bilateral ties
Singapore, Thailand to strengthen bilateral ties
Agence France-Presse, Singapore
Singapore and Thailand on Wednesday pledged to step up efforts to strengthen bilateral economic ties and boost Southeast Asia's attractiveness to foreign investors.
They concluded an inaugural three-day meeting on the Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Economic Relationship (STEER) project and signed agreements to improve trade ties in areas such as tourism and automotive industries.
An agreement was also signed on further co-operation between the stock exchanges of both countries.
Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo and Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak expressed hope the initiatives would benefit fellow members in the 10- nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"If we can have a good working model under STEER, then I believe it will inspire other such initiatives in ASEAN," Yeo told reporters after the signing ceremony.
"We have our own initiatives with Indonesia... between Thailand and other countries, they also have their initiatives," Yeo said.
Somkid said Thailand "cannot do it alone" to revitalize ASEAN and would "need a good strategic partner" to help achieve this.
"If we get together led by Thailand and Singapore starting from now... I strongly believe that we can revitalize and strengthen ASEAN once again," Somkid said.
Since the 1997-1998 financial crisis, ASEAN has struggled to regain the confidence of international investors who have flocked to China, lured by its huge pool of cheap labor and vast market potential.
Most recently, the 10-member grouping was dealt a fresh blow with the discovery of an expansive regional terror network, the Jemaah Islamiyah, which is alleged to have ties with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group.
The October bombings in the Indonesian resort island of Bali and most recently, the car bomb blast in Jakarta, further jolted confidence among foreign investors.
STEER was first mooted last year by the prime ministers of Singapore and Thailand under a "one economy, two countries" vision whereby the two nations will work together in areas of mutual benefit.
"The key is there is now a strong common political will to develop this relationship... the next step for STEER will be to ensure closer networking among the business leaders of both sides," Yeo said.
He said the leaders of the two countries "envisage a level of economic co-operation which will in effect make us one economic system."
He said this would involve "a free flow of trade or investments or people at a high level which will make possible a complex economic division of labor so that investors looking at Southeast Asia can see Thailand and Singapore as almost one continuum."
Yeo said Thailand was keen to tap Singapore's expertise in the logistics, transportation and finance sectors.
"Deputy Prime Minister Somkid envisions a future for Thailand as a center for services, manufacturing, tourism, food production, agricultural exports," Yeo said.
"He sees Singapore as being strong in management, in the ability to raise funds, in our strengths in logistics and transportation," he said.
"Indeed, if you look at it objectively, there is a great complimentarily which we can exploit to our mutual benefit to create projects for businesses and to create employment for both sides," Yeo said.
Trade between the two countries in 2002 amounted to S$19.9 billion (US$11.44 billion).
Singapore was the second biggest investor in Thailand and its fourth largest trading partner.