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This year's celebration has been made more meaningful after the recovery from the aftermath of the SARS outbreak in 2003. Based on advance estimates, the economy has recorded a robust growth of 9.5 percent in the first half of this year, buttressed by the favourable global economic environment. Notwithstanding the positive results, the Singaporean government will continue with the necessary reforms and restructuring to raise the overall competitiveness of the economy.
Since we last celebrated our National Day, world peace and stability has continued to come under the threats of terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the emergence of new life-threatening diseases. The series of events following September 11 are constant reminders of the dangers we face in a globalised age, where no region can insulate itself from developments in other regions. As a result, cooperation between countries at all levels has assumed greater importance.
Against this backdrop, Singapore seeks to work closely with President Roh Moo-hyun's administration to further strengthen the linkages between Korea and Singapore, and between Northeast and Southeast Asia. This is reflected in President Roh's state visit to Singapore in October 2003 and Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to Korea in May 2004. Singapore supports Korea's efforts to bring about a peaceful, stable and nuclear weapons-free Korean peninsula that will be beneficial to East Asia. Our two countries also share a common strategic interest in the continued US presence, vital to the stability and prosperity of the entire region.
Singapore and Korea enjoy strong economic and people-to-people ties. In 2003, Korea was Singapore's 8th largest trading partner, with total trade amounting to $11.3 billion. As the 9th largest foreign investor in Korea, Singapore has a total cumulative investment of $2.7 billion as of 2003. Singaporean companies are interested in exploring business opportunities that accompany the ongoing market liberalisation and corporate reforms in Korea. More than 76,000 Singaporeans, or almost 1 in every 55 Singaporeans, visited Korea last year, and about 260,000 Koreans visited Singapore.
One significant development in bilateral relations is the current negotiation between the two countries on a Free Trade Agreement, which is scheduled to be concluded by the end of this year. A substantive Korea-Singapore FTA (KSFTA), when it is concluded, will create an economic superhighway between our two countries and promote our status as the respective hubs in Northeast and Southeast Asia. It will also further anchor Korea's presence in Southeast Asia. Most importantly, it will benefit ordinary Koreans and Singaporeans alike.
Korea and Singapore face many common challenges in the increasingly globalised world. We will need to identify new areas of cooperation and create new engines of growth to bring about a higher living standard for our peoples. Given our shared aspirations, we will continue to work closely and strengthen our capacity to overcome new challenges.
Let me take this opportunity to wish all Singaporeans in the Republic of Korea a "Happy 39th National Day".
