Singapore Lee Hsien Loong

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke on the far-reaching impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the world, and on Singapore, in his May Day speech ...

And the fundamental solution to this is to make ourselves more productive, to transform our businesses, to grow our economy, to uplift everyone. But the rest we consume; we turn on the lights, we turn on the air-conditioner, we drive our cars, we have to bear that cost - Singapore households, businesses and the Government. How much is that part which we have to swallow? Our strategy can only be one - and that is to stay open, to make our economy stronger, more resilient, and to keep on seizing opportunities for growth, developing new capabilities and becoming a more competitive economy. But ultimately, all these matters depend on the major powers themselves and the relations between them, and how the war in Ukraine unfolds. When oil prices doubled to US$100 per barrel, which they have done since the beginning of last year, we have to pay double, too - which means we all have to pay an extra $30 billion a year for our crude oil and gas. We can share the burden, but the burden is still upon us. With Covid-19, there was further disruption to global supply chains and the vulnerabilities of these supply chains were exposed. Global growth will be weaker, and there may be a recession within the next two years. That is why Singapore has taken a strong stand, condemned the attack and imposed targeted sanctions against Russia. So the Russians are unlikely to swiftly defeat and subdue the Ukrainians, but neither can the Ukrainians beat and expel the Russians from their territory because the Russians have much larger forces. But since the beginning of the year, the outlook has clouded and the risks have grown considerably. We hope that the fighting will stop, but even if a ceasefire is negotiated, I think peace will still be elusive.