In his congratulatory message, which was released to the media by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Lee said he is confident that Thailand will continue to progress and develop under Mr Samak's leadership.

Mr Lee noted that Singapore and Thailand share close, longstanding ties and multifaceted cooperation across a broad front.

'We also have a common interest in building a cohesive and strong Asean, especially as Singapore will be handing over the chairmanship of Asean to Thailand in July this year,' he said.

Mr Lee added that he looks forward to working with Mr Samak to further deepen bilateral relations and to advance regional cooperation and integration efforts.