MFA Press Release: Remarks by Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new SOCAR-Keppel Shipyard in Baku on 19 March 2010

REMARKS BY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE, HE GEORGE YEO, AT THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY OF THE NEW SOCAR-KEPPEL SHIPYARD IN BAKU ON 19 MARCH 2010

Your Excellency President Ilham Aliyev
Excellencies
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

1 I am honoured to join all of you here this morning for the groundbreaking ceremony of the SOCAR-Keppel Shipyard which is officiated by President Ilham Aliyev himself.

2 16 years ago, Singapore and Azerbaijan established diplomatic relations. Our relations are warm and friendly. Our officials have worked well together in international forums, and since 2005, we have had 36 Azerbaijani officials attend courses in Singapore under the Singapore Cooperation Programme.

3 I am privileged to be the first Singapore minister to visit Azerbaijan. Just last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming the first Azerbaijani minister to Singapore who conveyed a letter from President Aliyev to Singapore President Nathan.

4 A new chapter has opened in our bilateral relationship. There is great potential for the strengthening of economic and other ties. Azerbaijan is a country with a long history and a rich culture. It has been growing rapidly. This morning when I called on President Aliyev, he told me that the GDP tripled in six years and last year, despite the global economic crisis, Azerbaijan's economy continued to grow rapidly at a rate of 9.3%.

5 The oil and gas sector is an obvious area of greater cooperation. Although Singapore has no oil or gas, we have a strong chemicals and maritime support cluster, with many Singapore-based companies supporting the operation of large oil and gas companies. I am certain that they would be keen to explore opportunities in Azerbaijan.

6 The realisation of Azerbaijan's Oil Strategy under the leadership of former President Heydar Aliyev has resulted in significant developments. Azerbaijan has attracted many international oil companies, signed a number of Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) and carried out smoothly the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) pipeline and several other offshore development projects. A State Oil Fund has also been created.

7 As part of the Oil Strategy to import world-class technology, Keppel was invited to Azerbaijan in 1997, and a partnership with SOCAR, the Caspian Shipyard Company in Baku, was quickly established. It was the region's first international rig-building, repair and conversion yard. Today, the Caspian Shipyard Company employs over 500 Azerbaijanis. The SOCAR-Keppel Alliance also achieved several "firsts" in the Caspian Sea, including the construction of the region's first world-class jackup rig, the first semisubmersible, and the first ice-class Floating, Storage, Offloading (FSO) vessel.

8 The development of the new SOCAR-Keppel shipyard supports the Oil Strategy promulgated by President Aliyev. When completed, the new SOCAR-Keppel shipyard will be the first of its kind in the Caspian region, specially designed to build and repair both civilian and naval ships. It is expected to employ over 2,000 Azerbaijanis.

9 Beyond oil and gas, there are other sectors to explore as well for Singaporeans in Azerbaijan and for Azerbaijanis in Singapore. With globalisation, the world has become smaller and more connected. On my Facebook, through an Azerbaijani friend, I learnt to my pleasant surprise that there are eight students from Azerbaijan studying in one of our local universities.

10 With the support and guidance of President Aliyev, I look forward to the blossoming of relations between Azerbaijan and Singapore. May I wish all our Azerbaijani friends a Happy Novruz.

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