Singapore and Indonesia will blaze a path forward for the rest of Asean: Tharman
Singapore and Indonesia will blaze a path forward for the rest of Asean: Tharman
SINGAPORE - Deep, honest friendship built on understanding and trust - like what Singapore and Indonesia share - is the most precious geopolitical asset in a changing world, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on June 16.
Speaking at a state banquet hosted for his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto on June 16, he added: 'Over the past few years, Singapore and Indonesia have opened a new era in our relationship. With regard to longstanding bilateral issues, we have listened closely to each other and found ways to move forward constructively for mutual benefit.'
He added: 'By working together, Singapore and Indonesia will also blaze a path forward, as two of the founding members of Asean, for the rest of Asean .'
Mr Tharman said both countries are now making bold strides to push the frontiers of cooperation, in areas such as in the green economy, manufacturing, digitalisation, and education.
Mr Prabowo, who grew up in Singapore when it was still a British colony, said he is convinced that the interests of both countries are intertwined.
'We have our ups and downs. We did have our suspicions. We do have differences in backgrounds,' he added. 'We have issues that we must resolve, but the fact of the geopolitics of the world today emphasises that only collaboration and partnership can benefit neighbours.'
Mr Tharman noted how the Expanded Framework Agreements, which came into force in 2024, were a historic milestone as they addressed bilateral issues which had been unresolved for decades.
These agreements covered defence cooperation, airspace management and extradition.
President Prabowo, as Defence Minister then , was crucial to this process, Mr Tharman said. For his contributions to the strong defence relations between both countries, Mr Prabowo was given Singapore's highest military honour, the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera), in 2023.
Mr Prabowo is in Singapore to attend the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat, which he co-chaired with Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on June 15 and 16. It was t he first such retreat for both leaders in their current capacities.
It is also his first state visit to Singapore since he took office in October 2024.
Earlier on June 16 , PM Wong and President Prabowo witnessed the exchange of pacts on renewable energy and sustainability projects.
Mr Prabowo said the leaders had a very productive and successful retreat, and agreed on 19 deliverables across many sectors.
Mr Tharman said he looks forward to working with President Prabowo and PM Wong to bring a new generation of Singaporeans and Indonesians closer in the spirit of friendship, and in pursuit of shared interests.
The ties between the two countries go far back to before each nation gained independence, and even before they were colonised, he said.
'People travelled freely across the seas, and between the archipelago of islands and trading posts that linked us together,' said Mr Tharman. 'They were also part of the dance of civilisations that shaped the cultures of Southeast Asia over the centuries, and which remains alive in their people's common heritage to this day.'
He noted that Singapore's first overseas mission after it gained self-government was its trade and cultural office in Jakarta. This was opened in 1961 before Singapore gained full nationhood in 1965.
The first minister to the office was Mr S Rajaratnam, who was then Minister for Culture and became Singapore's first Foreign Ministe r in 1965.
Mr Rajaratnam was a friend of Indonesia and a close observer of its struggle for independence, Mr Tharman said. When he penned Singapore's national pledge in 1966, he drew inspiration from Indonesia's deep wealth of experience.
Mr Prabowo noted that leaders from both countries helped form Asean , proving that they could have a zone of peace, prosperity and growth for more than half a century.
While it has problems to resolve, it is still one of the few regions in the world that has achieved this era of stability, peace and growth, he said.
'It is my political decision to enhance the best possible cooperation and partnership with Singapore,' Mr Prabowo added. 'I believe sincerely that it's Indonesia's national interest and Singapore's national interest to be close partners, not only friends, but partners.'
Chin Soo Fang is senior correspondent at The Straits Times covering topics such as community, politics, social issues, consumer, culture and heritage.
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
G7 leaders aim for unity, facing escalating wars in Ukraine, Middle East
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives before world leaders meet in Kananaskis for the G7 leaders' summit, at Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Amber Bracken/Pool Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz before the G7 Leaders' Summit, in the Rocky Mountains resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Pool France's President Emmanuel Macron arrives before world leaders meet in Kananaskis for the G7 leaders' summit, at Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Amber Bracken/Pool U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to attend the G7 Leaders' Summit at the Rocky Mountain resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Pool A backdrop sign for the G7 Leaders Summit in the Rocky Mountains resort of Kananaskis is seen outside the media center in Banff, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren KANANASKIS, Alberta - Leaders from the Group of Seven nations began annual talks on Monday with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East adding to global economic uncertainty, as host Canada tries to avoid a clash with U.S. President Donald Trump. The G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S., along with the European Union, are convening in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday. With an escalating Israel-Iran conflict, the summit in Canada is seen as a vital moment to try and restore a semblance of unity among democratic powerhouses. Canada has abandoned any effort to adopt a comprehensive communique to avert a repeat of a 2018 summit in Quebec, when Trump instructed the U.S. delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique after leaving. Leaders have prepared several draft documents seen by Reuters, including one calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict and other statements on migration, artificial intelligence and critical mineral supply chains. None of them have been approved by the United States, however, according to sources briefed on the documents. "I do think there's a consensus for de-escalation. Obviously, what we need to do today is to bring that together and to be clear about how it is to be brought about," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters. The first five months of Trump's second term upended foreign policy on Ukraine, raised anxiety over his closer ties to Russia and resulted in tariffs on U.S. allies. Talks on Monday will centre around the economy, advancing trade deals, and China. Efforts to reach an agreement to lower the G7 price cap on Russian oil even if Trump decided to opt out have been complicated by a temporary surge in oil prices since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 12, two diplomatic sources said. Oil prices fell on Monday on reports Iran was seeking a truce. The escalation between the two regional foes is high on the agenda, with diplomatic sources saying they hope to urge restraint and a return to diplomacy. "We are united. Nobody wants to see Iran get a nuclear weapon and everyone wants discussions and negotiations to restart," France's President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Greenland on Sunday before travelling to Canada. He added that given Israel's dependence on U.S. weapons and munitions, Washington had the capacity to restart negotiations. Trump said on Sunday many calls and meetings were taking place to broker peace. RUSSIAN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Highlighting the unease among some of Washington's allies, Trump spoke on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested the Russian leader could play a mediation role between Israel and Iran. Macron dismissed the idea, arguing that Moscow could not be a negotiator because it had started an illegal war against Ukraine. A European diplomat said Trump's suggestion showed that Russia, despite being kicked out of the group in 2014 after annexing Crimea, was very much on U.S. minds. "In the eyes of the U.S., there's no condemnation for Ukraine; no peace without Russia; and now even credit for its mediation role with Iran. For Europeans, this will be a really tough G7," the diplomat said. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will attend the summit on Tuesday. European officials said they hoped to use the meeting, and next week's NATO summit, to convince Trump to toughen his stance on Putin. "The G7 should have the objective for us to converge again, for Ukraine to get a ceasefire to lead to a robust and lasting peace, and in my view it's a question of seeing whether President Trump is ready to put forward much tougher sanctions on Russia," Macron said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
UK advises citizens in Israel to register with British authorities
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media at the G7 summit, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool KANANASKIS, Alberta - Britain on Monday advised its citizens in Israel to register their presence with the British government, saying it wanted to build up a picture of who is in the region in case they need assistance. Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, saying Tehran was on the verge of building a nuclear weapon. Iran, which has always said its nuclear programme is peaceful, has retaliated by firing missiles at major Israeli cities. "For British nationals in Israel, we're giving advice today to register their presence," Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters at a G7 summit in Canada. Starmer's spokesperson, speaking at a separate briefing in London, said officials wanted to gather information on British citizens in the region. "Our key message to British nationals in Israel is to follow the advice of local authorities on staying close to shelter," they said. "We are also launching a 'register your presence' portal for British nationals in the country in order to build a clearer picture of who is in the region and may need assistance. "We urge British nationals in Israel to complete this when it becomes available." The spokesperson said Britain was increasing logistical support for its citizens leaving Israel by land via Jordan and Egypt. Foreign Office officials were already in place at the Jordanian border, they added. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Indonesia will ‘copy' Singapore's successful policies with pride, says President Prabowo
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said he had spent some time in Singapore as a boy and witnessed the early days of Singapore's development. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH SINGAPORE - Singapore has done well in providing housing for its people and in managing its reserves for future generations, and Indonesia has copied these policies with pride, said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during a state visit on June 16. To this end, Indonesia is pushing ahead with its initiative to build one million apartments to house lower-income citizens, modelled after Singapore's HDB programme, and has also set up sovereign wealth fund Daya Anagata Nusantara, or Dhanantara, earlier this year, its version of Singapore's Temasek. Speaking during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at Parliament House, Mr Prabowo said he had spent some time in Singapore as a boy and witnessed the early days of Singapore's development. 'To be very frank, I've always admired the success of Singapore, and especially the success of the early leaders of Singapore, the leadership, statesmanship,' said the Indonesian President. 'In real life, we are not allowed to copy our friends homework or our friends. But in real life, why not copy best practice, right? It's called copy with pride.' He added that imitation was the highest form of respect, and cited Singapore's orchid diplomacy as another area that Indonesia might want to 'copy'. 'If you are imitated, that means you must be doing something good,' said Mr Prabowo who was presented with an orchid named after his mother, the late Mrs Dora Sigar Soemitro, at a ceremony officiated by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. The Paraphalanthe Dora Sigar Soemitro has long pencil-shaped leaves and blush pink flowers with a golden forked lip marked with crimson spots. It can grow to some 40cm in length with eight to 12 flowers on each stem, with each flower measuring about 7cm wide. President Tharman said the orchid, a beautiful hybrid with a lineage that includes Singapore's Vanda Miss Joaquim and a rare Indonesian species from Kalimantan, expresses the ties between both countries, which go far back into history. Both Singapore and Indonesia were part of a 'dance of civilisations' - initially Hindu and Buddhist, then Muslims, Christian and Taoist - that shaped Southeast Asia over the centuries, he added. 'That blend of cultures remains alive in our common heritage to this day,' said President Tharman in a Facebook post on June 16, after he hosted a state banquet for Mr Prabowo. He noted that the late Zubir Said, composer of Singapore's national anthem, had also come to Singapore from Sumatra in 1928. Mr Prabowo said he was touched that the unique orchid was named after his late mother. His mother, who died in 2008, was from a prominent Minahasa family with both Minahasan and German ancestry. She met Mr Prabowo's father, Mr Soemitro Djojohadikusumo, when they were studying in the Netherlands. 'I was given the honor of nominating a name, and I nominated the name of my mother to give respect to her for having raised me. For having raised maybe a difficult boy in his younger days, but finally, he became president of Indonesia,' Mr Prabowo said. 'I'm very proud that my mother is honored in this way.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
