Singapore and Laos to strengthen cooperation ahead of 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations

SINGAPORE: Singapore and Laos will strengthen cooperation in various areas including sustainability and environmental protection as well as urban planning and logistics, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (Sep 28). 

He was delivering a toast speech at an official lunch held in honour of his Laotian counterpart Mr Phankham Viphavanh, who is in Singapore on an official visit.

The Laos prime minister's visit comes ahead of a key milestone in 2024, which will mark the 50th anniversary of Singapore and Laos diplomatic ties. 

Mr Lee shared that the two countries have signed an agreement on energy cooperation and have also renewed an existing agreement on environmental protection, climate change, and water resource management.

This will facilitate mutual exchange of knowledge and expertise and create green growth opportunities for both countries' businesses, he said.

These agreements will strengthen bilateral cooperation on energy further, he added. 

In June, Singapore started importing renewable energy from Laos through Thailand and Malaysia under a two-year power purchase agreement was signed between Keppel Electric and Laos' state-owned Electricite du Laos (EDL).

Under this project, Singapore will import up to 100 megawatts of renewable hydropower from Laos - enough to power about 144,000 four-room HDB flats for a year.

Beyond energy cooperation, Mr Lee said the two countries can also do much more together in many other areas including urban planning and logistics. 

Mr Lee also pledged support for Laos, with the country set to assume the chair of ASEAN in 2024. He said an enhanced cooperation package that will include capacity building programmes geared towards supporting Laos' ASEAN chairmanship will also be implemented.