Working Visit of Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Education and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman to the Palestinian Territories, 18 October 2022

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Education and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman is on a working visit to the Palestinian Territories.

Minister Maliki inaugurated the Singapore Representative Office (SRO) in Ramallah earlier today. He also called on Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister (PM) Dr Mohammad Shtayyeh and met Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr Riyad Al Malki. Minister Maliki reiterated Singapore’s longstanding and principled support for a negotiated two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security. He reaffirmed Singapore’s continued support for the PA’s capacity-building efforts through the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP), including the Enhanced Technical Assistance Package (ETAP) for the Palestinians. Minister Maliki expressed his hope that the opening of the SRO would facilitate the implementation of ETAP and lead to stronger links between Singapore and the PA.

Minister Maliki also visited the Ramallah Friends Schooland will attend a dinner with Palestinian SCP alumni, including PA officials who had pursued post-graduate degrees in Singapore with ETAP scholarships.   

The transcript of Minister Maliki’s remarks at the inauguration ceremony of the SRO is appended.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE                                                                                                                                                  

18 OCTOBER 2022

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TRANSCRIPT OF REMARKS BY MINISTER IN THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, SECOND MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SECOND MINISTER FOR EDUCATION DR MOHAMAD MALIKI OSMAN ON 18 OCTOBER 2022 AT THE OPENING OF THE SINGAPORE REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN RAMALLAH

His Excellency Dr Riyad Al Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates

His Excellency Musa Abu Zaid, Chairman of the General Personnel Council

Mr Hawazi Daipi, Representative to the Palestinian Authority

Ms Shireen Shelleh, Honorary Director of the Singapore Representative Office

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalamu’ Alaikum Warahmatuallahi Wabarakatuh and good afternoon to all. It is a pleasure to be back in Ramallah. First, I would like to take the opportunity to thank Hawazi for all his hard work as our Representative to the Palestinian Authority these past six years. He has been tireless in promoting closer engagement. I would also like to express our sincere appreciation to Ms Shireen Shelleh for agreeing to take up the appointment of Honorary Director of our Singapore Representative Office here in Ramallah. She will be supporting the work of Hawazi and be our local point of contact.

2 Technical assistance has been a key component of Singapore’s development journey. We believe that the sharing of best practices and facilitating knowledge transfer are effective means of contributing to international development. This approach was borne out of our own experience post-independence. As a resource-scarce country, Singapore’s economic success is largely due to the generosity of our partners in the international community who were open to sharing their technical know-how and expertise with us. It is for this reason that we established the Singapore Cooperation Programme, or the SCP, to pay it forward. The SCP provides a platform which focuses on capacity-building and encourages fellow developing partners to share their development experiences and best practices and learn from one another. The SCP focuses on human capital development and is underpinned by our belief that our most valuable asset is our human resource. While we recognise that we all have our own unique circumstances, we hope that others will take away useful knowledge and practices to apply and adapt to their own situation. And in the process, Singapore also learns from the experience of others as we continue to improve ourselves.

3 Even though Singapore is thousands of kilometers away from Ramallah, we are committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority’s capacity-building efforts, where relevant and within our own means. Over the years, we have ramped up our technical assistance to the Palestinians. In 2013, we put together an Enhanced Technical Assistance Package, or ETAP, which gives Palestinian officials preferential placement in the capacity-building programmes offered under the SCP, and also customised study visits among others. When my Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Ramallah in 2016, he announced the doubling of the ETAP pledge quantum to S$10 million. I am pleased to note that since its inception, more than 600 Palestinian officials have benefitted from the ETAP by participating in courses on Public Administration, Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and Economic Development.

4 As Hawazi mentioned earlier, Singapore hosted a study visit for a Palestinian delegation from the TVET Commission and Nablus University for Vocational and Technical Education in August 2022. While Singapore’s experience might not be entirely replicable to the situation here, the delegation could adapt their observations to the Palestinians’ unique requirements, particularly the importance of partnership between the TVET sector and industry players. We welcome more such study visits to Singapore.

5 When COVID-19 struck and international travel came to a standstill, I am glad to note that PA officials continued to attend SCP courses online, with 120 participants in 2020 and 2021. At His Excellency Musa Abu Zaid’s request, the SCP hosted a virtual three-day workshop on telecommuting in November 2021 to share strategies on building a hybrid work environment. This year, we welcomed 26 PA officials for 13 online courses, such as the “Strategic Leadership and Public Governance” programme in September. One of the participants found Singapore's perspective on Governance insightful and helpful, as the PA builds on a good governance model.

6 I am pleased to note that since the Healthcare Assistance Package was presented to the PA this year, the Health Promotion Board of Singapore has run an online workshop on “Combatting Public Health Challenges” in August. The Civil Service College will also be customising a 5-day programme on “Pandemic Management” for healthcare policy makers next month in Singapore. Participants will gain insights in identifying capabilities needed to strengthen policy and decision-making in responding to pandemics, which I hope will help the PA build resilience into its healthcare systems.

7 We have also worked closely with the Palestinian Authority to offer scholarships under our ETAP to Palestinian officials to pursue postgraduate studies in Singapore, in areas that are of relevance to the Palestinian Authority such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, and International Relations. I am proud to note that Singapore has disbursed 11 scholarships thus far. Personally, I have had the privilege of meeting many of the Palestinians who have come to Singapore to participate in our programmes under the SCP.  I enjoy hearing their observations on what they find interesting about life in Singapore, their interactions with Singaporeans and the attractions they like to visit. But of course, they did a lot of work, apart from visiting the attractions. I also learnt much from them about their lives in the West Bank and how they intended to apply what they have learnt in their courses to their jobs back here.  I look forward to catching up with some of them this evening over dinner.

8 As Hawazi had mentioned earlier, the opening of a Representative Office in Ramallah is a key milestone in our relations with the Palestinian Authority. It is a testament to our commitment to doing more for the Palestinian Authority. It is my hope that the opening of the Office would lead to stronger links between Singapore and the Palestinians. We hope that our efforts can benefit the Palestinian people as they work towards the goal of an independent state, with Palestine and Israel living side-by-side in peace and security. I hope that you will also continue to support Hawazi and his work here, as well as extend your support to Shireen, and our new Representative Office.

9 The Representative Office and Shireen will assist Hawazi in our efforts to provide technical assistance to the Palestinian Authority by allowing for better coordination with the Palestinian agencies, the National Focal Point and the Singapore MFA. The Representative Office will help us better tailor the bilateral programmes to the needs of the Palestinian Authority and raise awareness of our various programmes. The Office could also help to identify more Palestinian officials to pursue their professional development in Singapore and use their stay in Singapore to get a better understanding of Asia.  Shireen, on her part, will assist to identify opportunities for Singapore entities to share their expertise and experiences in line with the development priorities of the Palestinian Authority. We also hope to tap on her expertise and network to deepen the relationship between Singapore and the Palestinian Authority.

10 With this ladies and gentlemen, I declare opened the Singapore Representative Office in Ramallah.

11 Thank you.

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Photo Caption: Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman with students at the Ramallah Friends School.

Photo Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore 

Photo Caption: Meeting between Palestinian Authority Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr Riyad Al Malki and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman.

Photo Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore 

Photo Caption: Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Dr Mohammad Shtayyeh receiving Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman at Dr Shtayyeh’s office.

Photo Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore 

Photo Caption: Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman delivering his remarks at the opening ceremony of the Singapore Representative Office in Ramallah.

Photo Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore