Singapore-Thai ties in excellent shape, says PM Wong at leaders’ retreat with Anutin

BANGKOK – Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has described Singapore and Thailand relations to be in excellent shape and said both sides will develop a multi-year agenda for ASEAN, with Singapore set to chair the regional group in 2027, followed by Thailand in 2028. 

He was speaking at a press conference in Bangkok with his Thai counterpart, Anutin Charnvirakul, at the Singapore-Thailand Leaders’ Retreat held on Sept 2 after an 11-year hiatus. 

PM Wong said the two countries’ partnership has continued to evolve with their changing needs and priorities, citing food and energy security, emerging technologies and physical connectivity as the key areas in which both countries are deepening cooperation. 

“Our bilateral relations are in excellent shape. And it is underpinned by a high degree of trust and rapport at the leadership level as well as strong institutional ties between our two countries,” he said.

PM Anutin, referring to the two countries’ collaboration, said: “I assure Prime Minister Wong that Thailand will be Singapore’s trusted partner.”

PM Wong said Singapore and Thailand are “like-minded partners with a shared interest in a strong and united ASEAN”, adding that both sides have agreed to work closely together to come up with a multi-year agenda for the 11-member regional grouping.

“This gives us a unique opportunity to work together across successive chairmanships – especially on initiatives that require sustained effort,” said PM Wong.

“By doing so, we can sustain the momentum of important initiatives, and make greater progress on issues that matter to our region,” he added.

One long-term project, for example, is the ASEAN Power Grid, which will facilitate cross-border electricity trade among the regional states and has received greater attention given heightened concerns about energy security given the Iran war. 

At the retreat, the leaders welcomed the Lao PDR–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore Power Integration Project, an important step to realising the ASEAN Power Grid. Its first phase enabled Singapore to import up to 100MW of renewable hydropower from Laos through Thailand and Malaysia.

In a statement on Sept 2, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said PM Wong and PM Anutin agreed that Singapore and Thailand “should work closely together during their ASEAN chairmanships to advance the group’s priorities, strengthen regional integration, deepen cooperation with external partners and unlock new opportunities for the region”. 

They also reaffirmed their shared interest in maintaining a rules-based international order.

First leaders’ retreat between both sides since 2015

The Singapore-Thailand Leaders’ Retreat, the highest-level bilateral platform between both countries, was last held in 2015 in Singapore between then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his then counterpart, Prayut Chan-o-cha. 

The latest retreat is the first between PM Wong and PM Anutin, who had met in November 2025 when the Thai leader visited Singapore, and in May 2026 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines. 

On Sept 2, both leaders took stock of the initiatives since their last meeting and discussed developing more projects to benefit both populations.  

In the area of food security, for instance, both sides discussed how to further boost supply chains by promoting collaboration between food producers and traders.

“This plays to the strengths of both countries – Thailand as a major food producer, and Singapore as a logistics and trading hub,” PM Wong said.

Artificial intelligence is another emerging field which PM Wong believes Singapore can work with Thailand on by developing practical applications for industries such as manufacturing, healthcare and tourism to be deployed across both countries.

Singapore stepped up its AI investments in January by dedicating $1 billion over five years to 2030 to boost public AI research capabilities, while Thailand on Aug 31 launched its TH-AI Passport programme, allowing five million citizens free access to AI tools for a year.

Both leaders also discussed cooperation in infrastructure and digital connectivity.

Singapore and Thailand are seen as leaders in financial connectivity in ASEAN as both launched the PayNow-PromptPay linkage in April 2021, making it the world’s first connection of national real-time payment systems. This allows customers of participating banks to make cross-border transfers using just a mobile number. 

The plan now is to expand this and connect with more countries through a common multilateral framework. 

On Sept 2, the two prime ministers also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to boost cooperation in social sector development.

Under the agreement, both sides will share knowledge and research on social welfare policies and programmes and plan visits to social service institutions, among other things.

The MOU was inked by Singapore’s Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, who was part of PM Wong’s visiting delegation, and Nikorn Soemklang, Thailand’s Social Development and Human Security Minister.

In its statement, MFA said PM Wong and PM Anutin reaffirmed the two countries’ longstanding defence and economic cooperation. They also agreed to explore new areas of cooperation, including in the green and digital economies, and fighting transnational crime. 

PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, said economic links between the two countries are extensive and growing. He mentioned bilateral trade, which continues to grow despite global economic uncertainties.  

In 2025, bilateral trade was $52.4 billion, a 17.8 per cent year-on-year increase. Singapore’s top exports to Thailand include electronic products and petroleum.

Thailand was Singapore’s ninth-largest trading partner, and the third-largest in ASEAN.

Singapore has been Thailand’s largest foreign investor for three years in a row. In 2025, Singapore remained Thailand’s largest source of foreign direct investment at some US$17.6 billion (S$22.4 billion). 

The retreat, the fifth between the two countries, has reaffirmed the strength of the Singapore-Thailand partnership, said PM Wong.

“Our ties are broad and substantive, founded on trust, and full of potential,” he added.

The issue of Myanmar

At the press conference, PM Anutin said he and PM Wong had an extensive discussion about the geopolitical landscape. 

“We agreed on the importance of stable and constructive relations among major powers and the need for ASEAN to advance stronger regionalism, resilience and relevance,” he said. 

One issue that has divided the regional group is that of Myanmar.

ASEAN had banned Myanmar’s junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing from attending leaders’ meetings since he staged a coup in 2021.

The Myanmar leader has refused to fully execute the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus, which calls for a stop in violence in the strife-torn country and greater access for humanitarian aid delivery, among other conditions.

But Thailand broke ranks with the regional grouping and welcomed Min Aung Hlaing to Bangkok for an official visit from Aug 6 to 7, 2026, when Bangkok suggested reintegrating Myanmar into ASEAN.

On Sept 2, PM Anutin said that on Myanmar, both sides reaffirm that ASEAN has an important role in supporting a peaceful and prosperous Myanmar. 

“I briefed Prime Minister Wong on Thailand’s ‘calibrated re-engagement’ in support of ASEAN’s effort. Thailand will work closely with Singapore and Myanmar to ensure further positive developments,” he added. 

The Thai leader also touched on the territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia as this will be an uncomfortable issue which will extend into Singapore’s ASEAN chairmanship.

Border clashes had broken out between the two neighbours in July and December 2025.

“On Thailand-Cambodia relations, I reaffirm to the Prime Minister that Thailand remains committed to resolving our differences peacefully through existing bilateral mechanisms,” he added.

William Jones, an international relations lecturer at Mahidol University International College, told The Straits Times that a multi-year agenda for ASEAN could be a positive move.

“I think this bodes well for ASEAN to finally have a multi-year approach as geopolitics is too unstable for the usual way of doing business,” he said.

PM Wong wrapped up his one-day visit to Bangkok with an official dinner hosted by PM Anutin, which was also attended by business leaders from both countries.

“Singapore has every confidence in Thailand’s economy. We have consistently been one of the top investors in Thailand, and we look forward to even more opportunities in the years ahead,” PM Wong said in a speech at the dinner.