An official lunch was served in honor of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Mrs. Anna Hakobyan on behalf of Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong. During the official lunch, the heads of governments of both countries made toasts.

In his speech, the Prime Minister of Singapore particularly stated the following:

“Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Nikol Pashinyan,

Mrs. Anna Hakobyan,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992, but our historic ties were established before that. About 200 years ago, a group of Armenian migrants moved to Singapore. They were not more than 100 people, but they had a significant impact on public life in the country. One can find signs of the Armenian presence in all parts of Singapore.

Prime Minister Pashinyan, as a former journalist, you will be interested in the fact that Singapore’s major daily — Street Times — was established in 1845 by an Armenian by the name of Khachik Movses. Many buildings here are named after the Brothers Sarkis, who established the remarkable Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Even our national flower was bred by Ashkhen Hovakimyan (Agnes Joaquim), a Singaporean woman of Armenian descent, and the sculpture of Vanda Miss Joaquim flower, which the Prime Minister unveiled yesterday at the Armenian Street in Singapore, serves as the symbol of the relations between our two nations.

We take pride in the Armenians who continue to make their contributions to our country’s development. The Armenian community preserves its identity, and this also allows foreigners to become familiar with Armenia and Armenian history.

We are holding talks over the free trade agreement between Singapore and the Eurasian Economic Union. We appreciate Armenia’s support to the signing of the agreement and hope it is signed as soon as possible.

During this visit, the Prime Minister will meet with Singapore’s business circles, and I hope Singaporean and Armenian businessmen work together by taking advantage of the signed agreement on avoidance of double taxation.

We are also strengthening our relations in other sectors, including tourism, culture and education.

Mr. Prime Minister Pashinyan, once again, I welcome you to Singapore. Thank you.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the following in his toast:

“Your Excellency Mr. Prime Minister,

Dear gathered, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honor for me to be in this beautiful country, which is small, but is admired by many with its tremendous potential. For us Armenians, Singapore is surely also the country that we have special feelings for.

Armenians have historic ties with Singapore. It is not by chance that the oldest Christian cathedral of Singapore, the Armenian church, is 184 years old. Today, we Armenians are proud that the small Armenian community of entrepreneurs has left its worthy trace in one of the beautiful corners of the globe.

We are truly proud of our past, but we also want our two countries to trade with each other and enhance human relations the way they did in the 19th century and early 20th century.

Our delegation is in Singapore to turn a new page over in our relations. Singapore is one of the most economically developed countries in the world, and we want to give an impulse to the growth of mutual trade and investments. Over the past year, the Armenian government has taken actions that have radically changed the economic climate. Armenia has strengthened rule of law and created equal conditions for all role-players in the economy, particularly for foreign investments.

In addition, Singapore will be signing a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, to which Armenia has acceded, and this can serve as a major impetus for the enhancement of economic cooperation between Singapore and Armenia.

Ladies and gentlemen,

One has to briefly examine the histories of Singapore and Armenia to notice that there are similarities between the two countries. Singapore and Armenia are located in an intricate or unfavorable geopolitical environment, lack rich natural resources, and education, knowledge, innovation, diligence, persistence, patience and optimism are considered the guarantee and driving forces for the countries’ development.

However, unlike Singapore, which started growing five decades ago and overcame the hardships in the initial period and has already achieved unprecedented heights, Armenia still needs to rise. We see our future as a country with knowledge-based economy, innovations and high technologies. There is no alternative for Armenia, which is very interested in Singapore’s rich experience and would be grateful for advice.

In this sense, I must mention that people in Armenia remember with great warmth the visit of Lee Kwan Yu in 2009. He is considered a symbol of honest and efficient management, and meritocracy, pragmatism and honesty, which are the pillars of the philosophy of public administration in Singapore, have become the principles of administration in the new Armenia.

In closing, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to make a toast to Singapore and the friendship between our nations. To your wonderful city and talented people and to our future cooperation!”