PM Wong warmly congratulates Keir Starmer in letter on UK general election victory

He described the partnership between Singapore and the UK as "steadfast" and "built on a mutual commitment to economic progress, and a shared respect for international norms and a rules-based multilateral order".

By

Ruth Chai

July 06, 2024, 07:41 PM

In his letter to Keir Starmer, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong extended his “warmest congratulations on Labour’s strong showing at the UK General Election and your appointment as Prime Minister”.

Wong described the partnership between Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) as "steadfast" and "built on a mutual commitment to economic progress, and a shared respect for international norms and a rules-based multilateral order".

"Our countries share a warm and deep friendship, underpinned by robust cooperation across a wide range of sectors and strong people-to-people ties," he said on Jul. 5.

PM Wong called the launch of the Singapore-UK Strategic Partnership in Sep. 2023 a "key milestone" in the countries' bilateral relationship.

As part of this partnership, Wong expressed his enthusiasm to strengthen cooperation in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, digital technology, renewable energy ad sustainability, which will create new opportunities for businesses and people.

He added that Singapore values the UK's continued engagement of the region, and pointed to the UK's involvement as a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and as fellow members of the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

"We can work together to advance our countries’ shared interests and address common challenges."

Congratulations to @Keir_Starmer and the Labour Party on their victory in the UK general election. SG and UK share a longstanding and historical relationship. Look forward to working with Mr Starmer and his team to strengthen our strategic partnership.

— Lawrence Wong (@LawrenceWongST) July 5, 2024

Sweeping victory

Starmer's Labour Party returned to power after winning the general election on Friday, ending 14 years of Conservative rule by Rishi Sunak's party.

It was the worst ever result in the Conservative Party history.

This included former conservative prime minister Liz Truss losing her seat of South West Norfolk.

The Labour Party, who have already secured the majority of the seats in parliament, or more than 326 seats, will return to government for the first time since 2010.

Labour have won 412 seats and the Conservatives 121, with two seats still to declare.