SPEECH BY MR TEO SER LUCK, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE & INDUSTY AT THE ARRIVAL CEREMONY OF THE TWO GIANT PANDAS AT CHANGI AIRPORT ON THURSDAY, 6 SEP 2012, 9.40am
Mr Dai Bing, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore
Mr Liu Yawen, Deputy Director; and Ms Zhang Hong Yan, Deputy Director, State Forestry Administration
Mr S R Nathan, former President of Singapore; and Chairman, CapitaLand Hope Foundation
Ms Claire Chiang, Chairman, Wildlife Reserves Singapore
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
1 I am pleased to join you this morning as we welcome two very special guests to Singapore - Kai Kai and Jia Jia. It is indeed our privilege to be entrusted with two of China’s national treasures.
2 Their arrival symbolises the strong economic, political and people-to-people ties between Singapore and China. In 2009, to mark 20 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries in 2010, the agreement for the collaborative conservation and research of the giant panda was signed during President Hu Jintao’s State Visit to Singapore. This was witnessed by both President Hu Jintao and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
3 Together, Singapore and China have established flagship G-to-G projects, such as Tianjin Eco-city and Suzhou Industrial Park. Singapore has also established seven business councils in Shandong, Sichuan, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Tianjin, Jiangsu and Guangdong. To further enhance our cooperation, many of our statutory boards, such as IE Singapore, the Economic Development Board and the Singapore Tourism Board, have also established offices in numerous Chinese cities. Our efforts have borne fruit: bilateral trade between Singapore and China rose more than 6% year-on-year to reach S$101.4 bil last year. China was Singapore’s 3rd largest partner, while Singapore was China’s 15th largest. In terms of tourism, 1.1 million Singaporeans visited China last year, while a record high of 1.6 mil Chinese tourists visiting our shores last year, a 35% increase compared to 2010.
4 But beyond numbers, strong relationships are built on understanding and goodwill. And I must say that even before they set foot in Singapore, Kai Kai and Jia Jia have already captured the hearts and minds of many Singaporeans, who have been eagerly awaiting their arrival. I recall when I visited them at the Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base four months ago, I received so many questions on when they would be coming. In the lead-up to their arrival, there were news articles about Kai Kai and Jia Jia being a “celebrity couple”, the five-star treatment they would receive on their chartered plane, and the details of their new custom-built home. It has truly been “panda-monium”. It is my hope that through Kai Kai and Jia Jia, we can learn more not just about the conservation and care of these endangered animals, but also about each other.
5 Kai Kai and Jia Jia’s new home will be at the Wildlife Reserves Singapore’s River Safari wildlife park. This is an exciting time for tourism in Singapore, as we continue to strengthen our tourism landscape with new and diversified offerings and attractions. I’m sure many visitors and Singaporeans look forward to seeing Kai Kai and Jia Jia when the panda exhibit opens by the end of the year. And we look forward even more to hearing the pitter patter of baby panda feet soon.
6 We wish Kai Kai and Jia Jia a fruitful stay in Singapore, and look forward to the continued strengthening of ties between our two countries. Thank you.