An angler (C) uses a headlamp before casting his line, as a large cargo container ship sails towards the Laem Chabang Port, near the city of Pattaya on September 1, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
Bangkok: Thailand and Singapore agreed on Wednesday to elevate their strategic partnership at their first leaders' retreat in 11 years, pledging closer cooperation as the two countries prepare to take consecutive chairmanships of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong welcomed a joint statement on a forward-looking strategic partnership after talks during the fifth Thailand-Singapore Leaders' Retreat in Bangkok and agreed to work on four further agreements covering the digital economy, transnational crime, food security, and supply chain resilience.
Following the meeting, both leaders witnessed the exchange of a memorandum of understanding on social development cooperation, which covered social welfare, community development, persons with disabilities, women, children and families, and personnel exchange between relevant agencies.
Anutin said the two countries would deepen trade and investment ties, promoting Singaporean investment in key industries, including semiconductors, digital, the green economy, and logistics.
The two countries will also deepen defense and cybersecurity cooperation and step up joint action against online scam operations, the Thai prime minister noted.
He added that Thailand will support Singapore's ASEAN chairmanship next year, before taking the chair itself in 2028, saying the overlapping terms gave both countries a shared responsibility to steer the bloc through global challenges.
