MFA Press Statement: Inaugural Collaboration between Singapore and Germany to Train Civil Aviation Personnel in Afghanistan

Singapore and Germany will collaborate for the first time to provide technical assistance to Afghanistan in civil aviation (more on Singapore-Germany collaboration is provided at Annex A). This collaboration aims to improve the safety of civilian air traffic in Afghanistan through capacity building of Afghan aviation personnel and is co-sponsored by the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) and the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO). The SCP Factsheet is at Annex B.

Two training programmes in civil aviation management (September 2009) and airport terminal operations management (January 2010), to be conducted in Singapore, will provide training for 40 officials from the Afghan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. Following a review of this year's programmes, the initiative may be continued in 2010.

A Declaration of Intent between both Governments was signed today by Singapore's Ambassador in Berlin Mr Jacky Foo and German Special Commissioner for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Bernd Muetzelburg at the GFFO in Berlin.

Singapore has been providing technical assistance to Afghanistan since 2002, when it pledged a technical assistance package (worth S$1.2 million) at the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in Tokyo. To date, a total of 225 Afghan government officials have been trained in areas such as education, environment, urban transport planning, public administration and healthcare under the SCP.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
20 AUGUST 2009

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ANNEX A

SINGAPORE-GERMANY
THIRD COUNTRY TRAINING PROGRAMME

This is also the first time Singapore is collaborating with the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) to provide technical assistance to developing countries under the SCP. This new partnership strengthens the existing collaboration between Singapore and Germany under the Singapore-Germany Third Country Training Programme (TCTP).

2 Under this TCTP, Singapore has been working with the German aid agency Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) since 1993 to provide technical assistance to developing countries in the areas of technical/vocational education training, multimedia development and internet technology. To date, some 370 government officials have benefited from 26 joint programmes.

3 Singapore has also been collaborating with the Hanns-Seidel Foundation (HSF) since 2001. Singapore and HSF have jointly conducted 17 training courses for 299 government officials from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, in areas such as environment, energy efficiency and climate change, public administration, trade negotiation and urban planning.

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ANNEX B

About the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP)

Singapore's technical assistance programme is based on the training and development of human resource in competencies useful to developing countries. As a country whose only resource is its people, Singapore believes that human resource development is vital for economic and social progress. Singapore itself has benefited from training provided by other countries and international organisations. Through the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP), Singapore shares its development experiences with other developing countries.

2 Established in 1992, the SCP brought together the various technical assistance programmes offered by Singapore under a single framework. Over the years, the range of SCP activities has expanded steadily to cater to the training needs of recipient countries. To date, Singapore has organized training courses and study visits for close to 62,000 participants from 169 countries around the globe.

3 A key feature of the SCP is the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP). TCTPs are technical assistance programmes jointly conducted with a donor partner for recipient countries. The TCTP modality of technical cooperation was conceived to leverage on both partners' expertise and resources to maximise the outcome of the joint programme. To date, Singapore has established TCTPs with more than 30 development partners, comprising developed countries, international organisations and non-governmental organisations.

4 More details are available on the Singapore Cooperation Programme Website at www.scp.gov.sg.

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