President of France François Hollandewith an official visit to Singaporeexpressed on Sunday his desire to strengthen France’s partnership with Southeast Asian countries.
“France considers Singapore not only as an economic partner, but in addition as a friendly country,” Hollande said on the state banquet, during which he raised a toast in French.
“In this geopolitical environment of isolation, nationalism and protectionism, we must lead by example and make our bilateral partnership not only strong and dynamic, but in addition point the approach to opening up trust in international trade,” Hollande added through the first official visit by the French president to Singapore .
The two countries signed a Joint Declaration of Strategic Partnership in 2012 to deepen cooperation in areas akin to trade and investment, defense and space technologies.
Singapore President Tony Tan said France was a “special friend”, noting that it was one among the primary countries to determine diplomatic relations with Singapore after its independence in 1965.
“At a time when the global political and economic environment is uncertain, many governments are feeling pressure to turn inward,” Tan said. “In this context, the opportunity to work with reliable friends is more important than ever. France is a great friend of Singapore.” About 15,000 French residents and 1,800 French corporations are based on this city-state.
Trade between each countries can be strong. Last yr, their bilateral trade was valued at 16 billion Singapore dollars ($11.4 billion). France was Singapore’s second-largest trading partner within the European Union.
In 2015, French foreign direct investment in Singapore was roughly 14.8 billion Singapore dollars ($10.6 billion).
Hollande is scheduled to satisfy the prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and can give a lecture on Monday. He leaves for Malaysia on Tuesday.
Source : ABC news
