OPENING REMARKS BY SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, MR LEE YI SHYAN, AT KEPPEL OFFSHORE & MARINE’S BAKU SHIPYARD INAUGURATION CEREMONY, ON 20 SEPTEMBER 2013, 9.00 AM, BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
Your Excellency President Ilham Aliyev
Mr Shahin Mustafayev, Minister of Economic Development
Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel Corporation
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
1. Good morning. I am honoured to join you today for the inauguration ceremony of the Baku Shipyard. I wish to congratulate Keppel Offshore & Marine, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan or SOCAR, and the Azerbaijan Investment Company for achieving another important milestone in their long-standing partnership. This is my first visit to Azerbaijan and I would like to thank His Excellency, President Ilham Aliyev, the Government of Azerbaijan, and Keppel for their kind and generous hospitality.
2. Three years ago, in March 2010, Singapore’s former Foreign Minister George Yeo and Your Excellency, President Ilham Aliyev, graced the groundbreaking ceremony of the Baku Shipyard. Today, I am privileged to witness the completion of the shipyard, and to participate in its inauguration.
Singapore-Azerbaijan Relations
3. Singapore and Azerbaijan share warm and friendly relations. I am pleased to note that there have been a growing number of interactions between our Ministers and among our officials in recent years. Last November, we were honoured to receive your Excellency, President Ilham Aliyev, and your distinguished delegation in Singapore. This was an excellent opportunity for our officials and businessmen to network and explore areas of cooperation.
4. A clear area of economic cooperation is in the oil and gas sector. Azerbaijan presents attractive opportunities to international oil companies, which have carried out various offshore development projects, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines. Although Singapore has no oil or gas resources, we have a strong chemicals and maritime support cluster, and many Singapore-based companies such as Keppel are supporting the operations of large oil and gas companies.
5. Keppel and SOCAR first established their partnership in 1997 with the formation of the Caspian Shipyard Company or CSC in Baku. Since then, they have achieved several ‘firsts’ together. In 2000, the CSC completed Transocean’s Gurtulush jackup rig – the first offshore drilling rig to be deployed in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea. In 2003, CSC delivered the first semi-submersible to be built in the Caspian Sea. In 2009, CSC delivered the Caspian Sea’s first ice-class Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel to Russia’s Lukoil company. Known internationally for our maritime expertise and services, Singapore’s vibrant maritime support clusters will be able to support the growth of Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector. I am confident that Keppel and SOCAR will continue to achieve new successes through their new partnership in the Baku Shipyard.
6. Beyond oil and gas, I believe that there is also potential for greater co-operation in other sectors such as transport, city infrastructure, waste and water management and if I may add, education, tourism and logistics. Many Singapore companies have built up their expertise in these areas and are now working to deliver integrated urban solutions to overseas partners.
7. I would also like to encourage our Azerbaijani friends to consider Singapore as a location to expand your Asian operations. Singapore is located in the heart of Asia – a strategic gateway to engage ASEAN and the world, given our location, excellent connections within Asia and business-friendly environment. ASEAN, with a combined population of 620 million people, offers an attractive end-market and investment location for companies.
8. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage our friends from Azerbaijan to visit Singapore. It is through more frequent people-to-people exchanges that we will gain a greater understanding of each other, paving the way for more business opportunities and long-term partnerships.
Conclusion
9. Let me end by congratulating Keppel, SOCAR and the Azerbaijan Investment Company once again on the successful completion of the Keppel-SOCAR shipyard. Thank you.
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