MFA Press Statement: Visit of Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Community Development, Youth and Sports Mr Sam Tan to the Federal Republic of Germany, 17-20 October 2012

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Community Development, Youth and Sports and Mayor of the Central Singapore District Mr Sam Tan is visiting Germany from 17 to 20 October 2012 to attend the second Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Meeting of Governors and Mayors (MGM) in Berlin from 18 to 19 October. The ASEM MGM saw the 21 participating cities share their experiences with various issues, such as climate change and sustainable development, urbanisation and social integration, and good local governance under the theme "ASEM Goes Local: Strategies for Change". Mr Tan delivered a presentation at the third plenary session on good local governance on 19 October 2012, where he shared Singapore's experiences in introducing e-governance programmes, and how these programmes enhanced the delivery of services to citizens and businesses in Singapore. As part of the ASEM MGM, Mr Tan attended an official dinner hosted by Governing Mayor of Berlin Mr Klaus Wowereit on 18 October 2012, where the participating governors and mayors exchanged views on the common challenges they faced, such as demographics and social integration.

During his visit to Berlin, Mr Tan also met with Chairman Dr Thomas Gambke and several members of the Bundestag ASEAN Parliamentary Group over lunch, and held separate meetings with Members of the Bundestag Mr Bijan Djir-Sarai, Dr Joachim Pfeiffer and Dr Rolf Mützenich to promote inter-parliamentary exchanges and exchanged views on developments in Asia and Europe.

Mr Tan will next visit Austria from 21 to 23 October 2012.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
19 OCTOBER 2012