The Honorable Mayor Brown, Secretary Hatamiya, your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, allow me first to thank all of you for honouring us with your presence at this official opening of the Singapore Consulate General and the Singapore Trade Development Board Office in San Francisco.

       The US and Singapore enjoy a close and warm relationship. The US is an important strategic and trading partner for Singapore.

California - Singapore relations

       Among the states in the Union, the State of California is the most important to us. Indeed, California and Singapore enjoy a special relationship. In March 1998, the California Trade and Commerce Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Trade Development Board, Economic Development Board, and the National Science and Technology Board. This relationship was reinforced in May last year when Governor Gray Davis and Prime Minister Goh signed a memorandum of understanding reiterating our commitment to economic and IT co-operation.

       In March this year, Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan led a high level government and business delegation to the Bay Area to launch Singapore Techventure 2000, which was aimed at forging partnerships and attracting investments for the New Economy. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Governor Gray Davis delivered keynote speeches at the event which was a huge success.

       Many Singaporean companies have set up offices in California to take advantage of the thriving economy here. Similarly California is an active player in the Singapore's economy. The State of California and the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have set up representative offices in Singapore.

Role of Consulate-General and the Trade Office

       Since 1996, Singapore has been represented in San Francisco by our Honorary Consul Chek Tan. He has played an important role in promoting closer relations between California and Singapore. On behalf of the government and people of Singapore, I would like to take this opportunity to convey our warmest appreciation to him for his dedication and hard work.

       To strengthen further our links to California and the Bay Area, we have upgraded our Honorary Consulate to a Consulate General. This will enable us to serve better the interests of Singaporeans living and working in the West Coast of the United States. The Consulate General will also work with our Embassy in Washington DC to strengthen Singapore's links to the US and its various states, especially California.

       To promote further Singapore's bilateral trade relations with California and the West Coast, a Trade Office has been established in the Consulate General. This reflects the growing economic ties between us. Together with our existing Trade Offices in Washington DC and New York, the new office will strengthen the Singapore Trade Development Board's presence in North America. The new office will concentrate on the states in the West and Southwest, including the top three exporting states to Singapore, namely California, Texas and Washington. The trade office will also cover Western Canada.

       As with other trade offices, the San Francisco office will assist, on the one hand, Singapore companies operating here and, on the other hand, American and Canadian companies interested in Singapore and Asia.