Your Excellency Prime Minister Luc Frieden,
Excellencies and distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Prime Minister Frieden, let me extend once again to you and your delegation a very warm welcome to Singapore. This is your first visit here as Prime Minister, and it is an honour to host you this afternoon.

Your visit comes at a good time for bilateral relations. Last year, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, and President Tharman had made a State Visit to Luxembourg. Just two months ago, Luxembourg inaugurated its first resident Embassy in Singapore - a strong signal of your commitment to deepening engagement with Singapore and with our region.

Singapore and Luxembourg may be far apart geographically, but we are close in circumstance and spirit. We are small countries surrounded by much larger neighbours. We have limited domestic markets and no natural resources. But we have never allowed our size to define the limits of our ambitions. Instead, we have turned our smallness into a reason to look outwards - staying open to the world, connecting people and businesses across borders, and building reputations as reliable and trusted partners.

This approach has delivered good outcomes for both our countries.

Today, we are major financial and business hubs, and gateways to much larger markets in our respective regions.

Our economic ties have flourished. Luxembourg is the largest EU investor in Singapore, and our second-largest investment destination in the EU.

And as we discussed this afternoon, we are looking to do more together - including deepening cooperation in emerging and critical technologies like quantum and AI, as well as in space and satellite communications.

We are able to build such a broad partnership because we fundamentally view the world in similar ways. From our experience, we know that all countries - and especially small states like ours - thrive when the world remains open and connected; when countries trade and cooperate with one another; and when international rules are respected and upheld.

So we share a strong interest in defending these conditions, especially at a time when they are coming under greater strain. Luxembourg has been a steadfast advocate for European integration, just as Singapore has long supported a stronger and more integrated ASEAN. And I believe we can work together to bring our two regions closer - strengthening ties between ASEAN and the EU.

So Prime Minister Frieden, I am very glad that our countries have found in each other not only a good partner, but a kindred spirit.

And I look forward to working with you to build on this strong friendship, and to write an even more ambitious chapter for Singapore-Luxembourg relations.

So Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, may I now invite you to stand and join me in a toast to: His Royal Highness the Grand Duke; to the good health and success of Prime Minister Luc Frieden and his delegation; and the enduring friendship between Singapore and Luxembourg, and our two peoples. Cheers!