PM Lee meets Putin, affirms deepening relations
SOCHI (Russia) — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (May 19) evening on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit in the Russian city of Sochi.
“They affirmed the deepening relations between the two countries and the growing economic partnership,” said Mr Lee’s press secretary Chang Li Lin, adding that Mr Lee thanked Mr Putin for hosting the summit.
Both leaders welcomed the strong progress made by the high-level Russia-Singapore Intergovernmental Commission — which meets annually to promote broad-based bilateral cooperation — and looked forward to further collaboration in new areas, said Ms Chang.
Mr Putin also expressed support for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Singapore and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. For Singapore, the EAEU offers a combined market of 180 million people and a total GDP of almost S$6 trillion.
On Wednesday, Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Eurasian Economic Commission — the regulatory body of the EAEU — to deepen ties. Mr Lee had expressed hope after witnessing the MOU signing that it would pave the way for an FTA with the EAEU.
Mr Lee is on a four-day trip to Russia for an official bilateral visit and to attend a summit commemorating the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-Russia relations. He arrived in Moscow on Tuesday before flying to Sochi on Thursday afternoon after a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the Russian capital.
During the meeting, both leaders took stock of Singapore-Russia relations and discussed how to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Mr Lee said that despite the rapid growth of trade between the two countries, in absolute size, it is still small and “far from its full potential”.
He noted that bilateral trade last year was about S$7.6 billion, making Russia Singapore’s 21st largest trading partner.
“(This is) not in proportion to the significance of Russia or the importance of bilateral cooperation,” Mr Lee said, adding that he hoped a FTA with the EAEU will be concluded by 2018, when Singapore and Russia mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
He also invited Mr Medvedev to visit Singapore, noting that on his last visit in 2009, Singapore-Russia relations moved up a notch with the setting up of the high-level intergovernmental commission that features annual meetings by leaders from both sides.
