CANBERRA — Australian leaders from across the political divide yesterday hailed the great convergence between Singapore and Australia as well as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s efforts in promoting bilateral ties, as they welcomed him warmly in Canberra.

Speaking before PM Lee’s delivery of a historic address to the Australian Parliament, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australians have long admired Singapore and its resilient, diverse and creative people.

“We are countries with different histories, and different cultural traditions. Yet we are countries familiar and comfortable with one another ... We prize informality. We are suspicious of pretence. We speak plainly and with pragmatism as friends should,” he said.

“We appreciate the role Prime Minister Lee has played in transforming our successful relationship, formed in the late 20th century, into a partnership fit for the challenges and the opportunities of the 21st century,” said Mr Turnbull, who also paid tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew as “one of the giants of the 20th century” who founded a nation that embraces the rapid march of technology and science just as it does the trade and open markets.

Adding that he was struck by PM Lee’s National Day Rally in August, Mr Turnbull called PM Lee a leader who has rejected the populist cries for less trade, more protection, less change, and who has instead embraced the future while maintaining an inclusive and cohesive society.

The Australian leader said that both countries seek a future for the region governed by shared norms of behaviour and respect for international law, and one marked by stable relations among the major powers.

Referring to how Singapore and Australia will sign an agreement today under the ambit of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) to expand access for the Singapore Armed Forces to train in Australia, Mr Turnbull said the move underlies the enormous trust and respect that exist between the two armed forces.

“It also reflects our commitment to do more as security partners, especially as our strategic circumstances change and evolve.”

Last June, both sides signed a joint declaration on the CSP to deepen ties in economics, defence, innovation and entrepreneurship over the next decade. This was followed by an announcement in May of various cooperation initiatives to operationalise the CSP.

Mr Turnbull also wrote a commentary in The Australian Financial Review yesterday, saying that with the CSP, both countries will embark on “the biggest advance in our bilateral relations in a generation”.

“The dynamism of our region presents new opportunities and challenges for both our nations,” he said. “In these times, a partnership between ‘the little red dot’ and ‘the wide brown land’ makes more sense than ever.”

On his part, opposition leader Bill Shorten lauded the Singapore story during his parliamentary address as one of people “overcoming the turbulence surrounding them”. He said that from the uncertainty of the 1950s and 1960s, Singaporeans emerged as proud citizens and architects of a modern and thriving nation.

“Whilst we both hold a common strand of British heritage, I believe — like the Prime Minister — that more importantly, we share in common, the quality of informality,” he said.

He added that Australia has no closer friend in Asia than Singapore and called on both to work together to a “stronger, richer friendship” in the years ahead.

Mr Shorten noted that both countries have a tradition of learning from each other. “As the top maths student of your Cambridge undergraduate class, the ‘senior wrangler’ — and perhaps the only world leader who can solve Sudoku in computer code — we know your passion for the sciences runs deep,” said Mr Shorten, referring to PM Lee. ALBERT WAI