Singaporean PM visits Bangkok today for first retreat in decade

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit Thailand today for the 5th Thailand-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat, at the invitation of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

The retreat will be the first since 2015, when the two countries last held the leaders’ meeting.

Anutin and Wong are expected to discuss four broad areas: green and sustainable development; a more interconnected and resilient economy; defence and security cooperation; and coordination on regional issues, according to the ministry.

An informed source said the two leaders will also discuss the situation in Myanmar and the Five-Point Consensus, which ASEAN adopted in April 2021 as its framework for addressing the crisis in the country.

The retreat also carries wider significance for ASEAN. Singapore is scheduled to take over the bloc’s rotating chairmanship in 2027, followed by Thailand in 2028.

The two governments are expected to use the retreat to lay the groundwork for cooperation during their consecutive chairmanships.

Thailand and Singapore commemorated the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties last year.

Singapore has been Thailand’s largest foreign investor for three consecutive years and the largest investor from ASEAN for more than a decade.

The retreat comes as ASEAN seeks to strengthen its centrality in a rapidly changing Indo-Pacific, where competition among major powers is increasingly affecting trade, technology, security and regional diplomacy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the retreat would provide an opportunity to develop a forward-looking strategic partnership between the two countries.