PM Lee Hsien Loong congratulates new British PM Rishi Sunak
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written a congratulatory letter to Britain’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
In his letter to Mr Sunak on Wednesday, PM Lee said Mr Sunak’s premiership comes at a time of significant challenges for many countries due to geo-political tensions, the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising inflation.
He said while Mr Sunak has many “urgent priorities”, he hopes Singapore, Britain and other countries can work together to manage complex challenges and explore opportunities for cooperation.
“Amidst your many urgent priorities and full agenda, I hope we can work together to strengthen our longstanding and friendly bilateral relations,” PM Lee wrote.
Both Singapore and the UK are staunch supporters of a rules-based multilateral order, PM Lee said. He also noted that both countries, which share strong historical and people-to-people ties, have collaborations across many sectors, including trade and investment, security and defence, and research and innovation.
PM Lee also reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment to the Financial Partnership, which Mr Sunak signed last year when he was still Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The partnership was signed by Mr Sunak and Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the sixth UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue, which was held virtually in June 2021. Both countries agreed on several areas of interest, such as regulatory cooperation, accelerating green finance and encouraging the development of carbon markets.
Earlier in February, both countries also inked the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, which entered into force in June this year. PM Lee called the agreement a milestone for both countries that unlocks new growth prospects for businesses.
“I wish you the very best in fostering stability and unity in the United Kingdom, and building a better and more prosperous future for the British people,” PM Lee wrote.
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