Dear Friends and Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me first extend a very warm welcome to all our Honorary Consuls and their wives. I thank you for making time to attend this Fifth Meeting of Honorary Consuls here in Singapore. During the next few days, you will be briefed about the current situation in Singapore and meet a wide cross-section of people. We hope that this will give you a clearer picture of the challenges facing Singapore and help you in your work. We would also appreciate your views on how we can better work together to service the growing number of Singaporeans overseas and strengthen ties with your host countries.
Religious Harmony
2 The last time we met in November 2001, the world was still reeling from the September 11 terrorist attacks. In late 2001, our security agencies uncovered a plot by an extremist Islamic group, the Jemaath Islamiyah to launch terror attacks here - 21 tons of ammonium nitrate for 7 truck bombs, each the size of Oklahoma City. It is fortunate that we were able to stop them in time. But this is a long-term problem we have to worry about. We can never take our security and social harmony for granted. Sooner or later, bad things will happen. The physical damage we can always repair; the economic cost we can bear; but the damage to our social fabric can be severe and enduring.
3 We are doing many things to protect our multi-ethnic and mult-religious society. We have an active programme to promote inter-religious dialogue which might interest you. In an unexpected way, September 11 has strengthened us.
Globalisation
4 The present mood in Singapore is upbeat. We are riding a new wave of growth generated by the rapid development of the Chinese and Indian economies. There are now over 2000 Chinese companies and over 2000 Indian companies operating in Singapore. There'll be many more in the coming years. Our FTAs have strengthened our economic links with the major economies. Singapore is becoming the London of Asia.
5 Our external economy is growing rapidly, creating new opportunities for us, but also new problems. We are seeing more Singporeans and Singapore companies moving overseas, and into new parts of the world like the Middle East, Central Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa.
6 Because of this, the workload of our Missions abroad has been increasing. Our Honorary Consuls will play a growing role, opening doors for our companies and alerting them to opportunities and dangers. We are small in numbers and often latecomers. Our Honorary Consuls can contribute much to our understanding of the political, social, economic and business environment in your countries.
ASEAN
7 Singapore can only do well if the immediate region around us is at peace and also doing well. Strengthening ASEAN is therefore a key pillar of our foreign policy.
8 In August 2007 Singapore will assume the Chairmanship of ASEAN during its 40th Anniversary. The ASEAN Charter is being drafted and should be ready for the Leaders to sign during the Summit in November. A peaceful and prosperous ASEAN can play a major role in promoting peace and development in larger Asia. Through the East Asia Summit, we in ASEAN hope to engage both China and India in a deep way so that their growth will be in harmony with the rest of the region and indeed the world.
Overseas Singaporeans
9 So many Singaporeans are now travelling abroad for business, work, study and leisure. For example, in 2006, Singaporeans made over 18 million trips to countries all over the world. In many of these countries, we do not have a High Commission, Embassy or Consulate. With a Singaporean population of only 3 million plus, our resources are limited. Altogether, we have only 18 Embassies, 7 High Commissions, 2 Permanent Representations to the UN and 16 Consulates and Consulates-General around the world manned by MFA officers. As we do not have the resources to maintain offices in many of the places where Singaporeans and Singapore companies venture, the work you do for us as Honorary Consuls and Consul-Generals is invaluable. On behalf of all Singaporeans, I thank you for the services that you, your wife and your staff have rendered to the Foreign Ministry and to Singapore.
10 Last year, as part of the effort to network the growing number of Singaporeans living overseas, the Government established the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU). On April 21, the OSU will hold a Singapore Day in New York to gather the clan there, as it were. We are experimenting and will do more in the coming years. Please give us your advice on how we can foster this sense of a global Singapore family.
Friends of Singapore
11 We are fortunate to have many friends in the world. Among them are those who have worked, studied or vacationed here. There are those who got to know us from the Singaporeans they have met in various parts of the world. Some are business partners. Others are admirers of the Singapore way of doing things. And, of course, in our Honorary Consuls and Consuls-General, we have found particularly close friends.
12 An important part of being Singaporean is our cosmopolitan character. Because we are diverse in our own society, we respond well to the diversity of the world. I think this is one reason why we have this wonderful network of friends around the world who are prepared to help us and stand up for us. The global Singapore family is not alone. It has many friends and relatives, in Singapore and everywhere members of our family are to be found. Naturally, this is also reflected in the growing number of marriages between Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans.
13 We must find ways and means to strengthen our network of Singapore friends even as we work to strengthen the global Singapore family. The two go hand in hand. This cannot be the effort of Government alone. The Government can facilitate but the emotional links have to be built from the bottom up. Local initiatives will be crucial.
14 Over the years, our 55 Honorary Consuls-General and Honorary Consuls have served Singapore with distinction. You will always have a special place in the hearts of Singaporeans. To recognise those who have stepped down, we are creating an "Alumni of Honorary Consuls-General and Honorary Consuls of Singapore". We will update alumni members regularly on all things Singapore. And we hope to welcome them back to Singapore again and again.
15 I wish all of you a good stay in Singapore. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do to make your time here more interesting. It is now my pleasure to declare officially open the Fifth Meeting of the Honorary Consuls.
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