S'pore & Thailand to develop multi-year agenda for consecutive Asean chairmanships

Singapore and Thailand look to take advantage of their consecutive Asean chairmanships to work together across successive chairmanships and develop a multi-year agenda.

This comes as Singapore prepares to take the 2027 Asean chair, with Thailand chairing the regional bloc in 2028.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said this during the joint press conference of the 2026 Singapore-Thailand Leaders Retreat in Bangkok on Sep. 2.

His trip was hosted by Thailand PM Anutin Charnvirakul, reciprocating a visit to Singapore by Anutin in 2025.

This was the first leaders' retreat in over a decade, and PM Wong said that he was glad to revive the platform “to take stock of our relations, discuss issues of mutual interest, and chart the way forward together.”

Relationship in excellent shape

PM Wong said the Singapore-Thailand bilateral relationship was “in excellent shape” and was “underpinned by a high degree of trust and rapport” at the leadership level.

This was in addition to the strong institutional ties between the two countries.

PM Wong noted the depth of the relationship, whether it be through bilateral platforms such as the Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Economic Relationship (STEER) or the Civil Service Exchange Program, or defence and economic ties.

Defence cooperation was also described as a “key pillar” of the relationship, with PM Wong saying he appreciated Thailand’s hosting of the SAF for training over several decades.

Economic ties were described as “extensive and growing”, and he noted that Singapore was the larger source of FDI into Thailand in 2025.

“We have every confidence in Thailand’s economy, and our companies continue to see good opportunities to invest and grow here for the long term.”

PM Wong also spoke about the evolution of the partnership in the face of changing needs and priorities, such as on food and energy security, digital economy, and tackling transnational crime.

Shared priorities into concrete projects

The retreat provided an opportunity to review progress and focus on how to turn shared priorities into "concrete projects”, such as in food and energy security, emerging technologies such as AI, and closer connectivity between countries.

On the final point, PM Wong said that Thailand sought to strengthen its position as a regional trade and logistics hub, and that Singapore was a “natural partner”, with companies such as PSA having “capabilities and experience that can contribute to these plans.”

Another aspect of close connectivity was the connections between people, including among civil servants and researchers.

PM Wong and Anutin witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation in the field of social sector development.

The MOU would enable both countries to learn from each other’s experiences and find new solutions to mutual challenges.

Sustained efforts

Singapore is due to take up the Asean Chair in 2027, with Thailand following in 2028, an occurrence that PM Wong said: “gives us a unique opportunity to work together across our successive Chairmanships, especially on initiatives that require sustained effort over several years.”

Both leaders agreed that their teams should work closely together to develop a “multi-year agenda that builds continuity and momentum from one Chairmanship to the next.”

“By working in tandem, we can sustain the momentum on important initiatives, and make greater progress on issues that matter to our region.”

Trusted partner

Anutin welcomed PM Wong, referring to him as his "good friend", and said he was pleased to return the hospitality extended to him when he visited Singapore in November 2025, calling the retreat "very productive."

He said the retreat was very timely, given their successive roles as chairs of Asean.

Beyond the MoU signed that day, Anutin said that he and PM Wong had agreed to work on four additional agreements on the digital economy, transnational crime, food security, and supply chain resilience.

Anutin also said that regarding food security, he had assured PM Wong that Thailand will be Singapore's "trusted partner" and will build on the 2025 rice trade agreement to supply 100,000 tonnes of Thai rice over five years, as well as expanding cooperation to other products.