Transcript of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Remark at the Launch of the Book "Singapore's Orchid Diplomacy", 29 July 2024

Your excellencies

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

1 A warm welcome to the launch of the book “Singapore’s Orchid Diplomacy”. This was jointly commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NParks. We are gathered here not just to unveil the book, but also to celebrate and reflect on a practice that has become a tradition and is so closely identified with Singapore and our diplomacy.

2 Orchids have been closely linked to Singapore for a long time. In the 1920s, the Singapore Botanic Gardens has been at the forefront of the orchid breeding world. We even designated the orchid, Vanda Miss Joaquim, as our national flower in 1981. In 2015, we created the Papilionanthe Singapore Golden Jubilee orchid to celebrate Singapore’s 50 years of independence. Indeed, orchids represent what Singapore stands for as a nation and as a people – vibrant, diverse, colourful, adaptable, and the fact that orchids hybridise easily, also reflects two different parent plant species coming together to reflect and multiply Singapore’s diversity and our rich multicultural heritage.

3 The tradition of naming orchids after dignitaries began in 1956, when the Aranthera Anne Black was named after the wife of the then-British Governor of Singapore. Since then, this practice has blossomed into an important part of Singapore’s diplomacy, and we have named more than 280 orchid hybrids after visiting foreign heads of state, heads of government, and other distinguished guests. We have also created unique hybridised orchids to commemorate significant events and milestones, and you will get to see some of these orchids here at the VIP Orchid Garden, just behind this hall.

4 You saw from the video, there is an entire team of officers, MFA, NParks, the Botanic Gardens behind every single orchid naming ceremony. In fact, it is also worth remembering that it is seven years of hard work for each final orchid that you see. If you add up 280 (types of orchid hybrids) times the seven years it takes for each orchid hybrid, you end up well over 1,000 man-years to make all this happen. The garden very carefully selects the appropriate orchid from the collection of newly cultivated orchids. A great deal of care, thought, and meticulous effort goes into this process. On this note, let me thank the officers of the Botanic Gardens, NParks, MFA, as well as the many pioneers who have paved the way, including our former NParks CEO Dr Tan Wee Kiat. I remember him clearly from the time I used to work in the Ministry of National Development (MND). I also want to give credit to the former President of the Orchid Society of South-East Asia Yusoff Alsagoff, and former Botanic Gardens staff Dr Yam Tim Wing. Allow me to make two additional special tributes. The first is to the late master breeder David Lim, who helped cultivate many of the VIP orchids that we know today including the Aranda Lee Kuan Yew, named in honour of our founding Prime Minister. The second special tribute is closer to home, Dr Leong Chee Chiew, whom I knew personally. Sadly he just passed away a month ago. He was the former NParks Deputy CEO and Commissioner of Parks and Recreation. He was a stalwart, quiet, discreet, but always a reliable presence whenever there was any event or whenever there was any new project or initiative for the green and conservation scene in Singapore over the past 40 years. Dr Leong played a crucial role in nurturing the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ orchid collection and our capacity to breed exquisite new orchid hybrids.

5 Let me conclude by expressing my gratitude to the author, Mr Koh Buck Song, for weaving together so artfully, the story of “Singapore’s Orchid Diplomacy”. This book reflects a curation of 60 orchids, each one representing a milestone in our diplomatic journey. As Buck Song wrote in the book, “through VIP orchids, friendships have been established and deepened across the world”. “Singapore’s Orchid Diplomacy” therefore celebrates our global friendships that have blossomed over the years, and our uniquely Singapore identity. So let us continue to cherish and build these relationships.

6 Thank you all very much for joining us today.

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