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Prime Minister Lee (left) with Thai leader Mr Samak (right) at a dinner last night honouring Mr Samak. -- ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG
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OLD friends Singapore and Thailand swept away last year's troubles yesterday as they pledged to work more closely to enhance cooperation.
To that end, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Thai counterpart Samak Sundaravej announced the resumption of two cooperation programmes.
Speaking at an official dinner at the Istana he hosted in honour of his Thai guest, Mr Lee said: 'When we met earlier today, Prime Minister Samak and I agreed that we should work more closely to enhance cooperation.'
The immediate result: The Thailand-Singapore Civil Service Exchange Programme (CSEP) will resume, and the Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Economic Relationship (Steer) meeting will reconvene.
The CSEP, which brings together senior civil servants annually to discuss bilateral issues, was launched in Singapore in 1998 to enhance cooperation between the two countries.
Last year, the Thai military government cancelled it in protest after Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar met ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra here.
Mr Samak said last night that the programme will be hosted by Bangkok in June.
Steer was inaugurated in 2003. The Singapore-led initiative is aimed at pushing for greater bilateral economic cooperation across various sectors such as agriculture, life sciences, automotive and financial services.
Mr Lee said: 'This has served as a valuable platform for economic cooperation among our government agencies and private sectors, and we should make full use of it to develop new areas of win-win cooperation.'
He added that Singapore will reconvene the Steer meeting, which was last held in Bangkok in 2005.
Describing the two countries as 'old friends', Mr Lee said the friendship, which began in 1871 when King Chulalongkorn made a historic visit here, has endured and grown stronger over time.
Singapore is now one of Thailand's top trading partners, with bilateral trade of more than $30 billion last year. The Republic is also one of the top five investors in Thailand.
Mr Samak said bilateral ties have been built on 'complementary advantages' and the concept of 'win-win'.
'This official visit has provided yet another good opportunity to reaffirm existing close ties between us and to further explore ways and means to deepen our cooperation in current and future areas of mutual interests,' the Thai leader said.
Mr Samak, 72, who also holds the defence portfolio, is here on a three-day visit as part of his introductory tours to regional countries since he took office on Feb 6. He has since visited Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
His delegation included officials from the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai Army and the National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand.
At their meeting yesterday, the two leaders also reaffirmed the importance of all Asean countries ratifying the Asean Charter by the next summit in Thailand.
'Asean's credibility is at stake, and we must take decisive action to show the world that we are committed to forge ahead as a grouping,' Mr Lee said.
Thailand takes over the chairmanship of Asean from Singapore in July.
Yesterday, Mr Samak also called on President SR Nathan, and separately held talks with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.
The Thai delegation leaves for home today.
lingch@sph.com.sg
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