MFA Press Statement: Singapore-France Third Country Training Programme

Singapore and France will jointly organise a Workshop on the Prevention and Management of Avian Influenza Outbreaks for ASEAN countries in Singapore from 19 to 25 July 2007 under the framework of the Singapore-France Third Country Training Programme (TCTP). Public health officials from several ASEAN countries will participate in the Workshop.

The objectives of this Workshop are to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to develop and execute an effective plan to prevent and manage avian influenza outbreaks in health care settings, and to provide a forum for the exchange of views and the sharing of country updates on the avian flu situation and outbreak management. The Workshop, to be facilitated by experts from the Singapore Changi General Hospital and the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia, followed a similar joint project conducted in Lao PDR in May 2007.

Singapore and France have been cooperating since 2001 to provide technical assistance to countries in Southeast Asia. The Singapore-France TCTP was formalised under a Letter of Intent signed by both countries on 16 March 2007. Under the TCTP, capacity-building programmes will be organised focusing on the areas of public health, governance, financial and budgetary management and procurement. The Singapore-France TCTP is one of the partnerships Singapore has forged under the overall framework of the Singapore Cooperation Programme. (See Annex A & B for more information on the Singapore-France TCTP and the SCP.)
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
18 JULY 2007

ANNEX A

Singapore - France Third Country Training Programme

Singapore and France have been cooperating since 2001 to provide technical assistance to countries in Southeast Asia. The Singapore-France TCTP was formalised under a Letter of Intent signed by both countries on 16 March 2007. The Letter was signed by Permanent Secretary (Foreign Affairs) Mr Peter Ho and French Secretary General for Foreign Affairs Mr Philippe Faure.

Under the agreement, Singapore and France will jointly, based on equal partnership, establish and administer a programme to train selected participants from Southeast Asia under a Third Country Training Programme (TCTP). The fields of training include governance, health, higher education and other areas of mutual interest.

Under the TCTP framework, a Joint Review Committee will meet annually to decide on the number of courses and areas of training to be conducted each year. Training programmes focusing on public health, governance including financial and budgetary management, procurement and cybercrime control have been identified for the Work Plan of 2007/08.
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ANNEX B

About the Singapore Cooperation Programme

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 SCP, Singapore shares its development experiences with other developing countries.

The SCP was formally established in 1992 to bring together under one framework the various technical assistance programmes offered by Singapore. Over the years, the range and number of training programmes have been increased to meet the training needs of developing countries. To date, Singapore has sponsored training courses and study visits for over 48,000 officials and individuals from 166 developing countries in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.

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