(AseanAll)  — On May 8, 2026, at the Shangri-La Mactan Hotel, Cebu, Republic of the Philippines, Thai Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of the Republic of Singapore during his attendance at the 48th ASEAN Summit.  

It was a cordial meeting, during which the Prime Minister mentioned the concept of ‘Synergize Our Strength’, emphasizing that ASEAN member states should seek opportunities to reinforce collective strength rather than view one another as competitors. He proposed that ASEAN leverage the region’s advantages to enhance its bargaining power with other parts of the world. Although each member country may be relatively small, together ASEAN constitutes a region of high potential and a major production base in the global supply chain for many products. ASEAN should, therefore, play a stronger role and voice on the international stage.

The Prime Minister of Singapore strongly agreed with Thailand’s proposal and affirmed his readiness to support cooperation to strengthen ASEAN in all dimensions.

On energy cooperation, both the leaders reaffirmed their support for advancing the ASEAN Power Grid and promoting energy collaboration within the ASEAN framework, with the aim of enhancing long‑term energy security and regional energy connectivity.