Non-Muslims have benefited from waqf as proceeds have been used to purchase medicine for needy Singaporeans, regardless of race and religion. The Malay/Muslim community in Singapore, while holding fast to the values of Islam also maintains an open and progressive attitude in the practice of its faith in our multi-racial and multi-religious society. The Singaporean Muslim's identity stresses the importance of contextualising one's beliefs to the environment, but without compromising the tenets of faith. The environment required to ensure the growth of waqf is similar to conventional charitable trusts. Singapore has established itself as a strong centre for the administration of charities and trusts. We have introduced several initiatives to make Singapore a more conducive jurisdiction for trusts, a vehicle commonly used for philanthropic purposes. This includes measures to modernise our trust laws, update our regulatory framework and make our tax regime more conducive for the establishment of trusts. This will help Singapore to become a centre for the development of waqf. Conclusion Let me conclude. Asia and the Middle East are becoming more interdependent. With our destinies intertwined, it is critical for Asia and the Middle East to continue our efforts at engaging each other, strengthening our bonds and enhancing mutual understanding. To overcome the common challenges we face, we should continue sharing our experiences. I hope that this conference is the first of many in bringing together interested parties from all over the world to explore new and innovative ideas, and to learn from each other.

This accounts for around 80% of total trade volumes between Thailand and these three countries. In this respect, it is important that GMS governments harmonize rules and regulations for trade and investment transactions, both within each country and between countries, with a view to improving ease of doing business and lowering trade and investment transaction costs. Ladies and gentlemen, Connections in physical infrastructure and thriving trade bring people together and that comes to the third aspect, people-to-people connectivity. Close proximity, improved infrastructure, and economic connection in the subregion have brought people to connect, either through labor movements or tourism. At present, it is estimated that above 2 million foreign workers in Thailand are from CLMV countries, contributing in various sectors. Each year, based on official records, they remit over 10 billion baht back to their home countries. With regard to tourism, around 2 million visitors from CLMV have made Thailand their destination every year. In the future, people connectivity should not be confined only to labor movement and tourism, but should develop into strengthened knowledge-sharing networks. GMS economies are in need to move up and integrate our value chains, and it is the people with skills, knowledge and innovative spirit who can make this happen. Strengthening knowledge networks for tertiary education, knowledge creation and knowledge sharing among industries will be a bedrock for building the subregion’s capacity, and help harmonize different rules and regulations. For Thailand, I am glad to see that we have increasingly offered educational training to citizens of the GMS.