Speech by George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Second Asia Middle East Dialogue at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, 5 April 2008

Your Excellency Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Fellow Ministers
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentleman

I am delighted to be back in Egypt to attend this second meeting of the Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED). On behalf of the Singapore delegation, I thank and congratulate Minister Aboul Gheit and the good officers of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry for the excellent arrangements. Singapore treasures its friendship with Egypt which goes back to the days of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The strong support of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah of Jordan and Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa of Bahrain in February 2004 convinced Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong that the idea of AMED was worth pursuing.

2 AMED has made good progress since our inaugural meeting in Singapore in 2005. It is helping to revive the historical relationship between two ancient regions once linked by the overland and maritime silk routes. With the centre of gravity of the world economy returning to Asia in this century, the connections between the Middle East and Asia will multiply in the coming years. They will not only be economic but political and cultural as well.

3 This re-encounter of Asia and the Middle East is of historic significance. In a new age of globalisation, countries and regions once belonging to different European empires are re-discovering one another. I remember how the ice quickly broke once we got to know one another during the first AMED meeting in Singapore. By the time we bade each other farewell at a dinner in Singapore's Arab quarter, the sense of closeness and camaraderie was felt by everybody.

4 At the Singapore meeting, we established three working groups based on the three pillars of AMED as a first step forward. Among the number of projects that have been started, let me highlight two. The Economic Working Group co-chaired by Egypt and Thailand is working on the standardisation of halal food certification across Asia and the Middle East. Such standardisation would facilitate trade and investment in halal foodstuff, an industry which is worth billions of dollars. The Social, Educational, Scientific, Cultural, Environmental and Media (SESCEM) Working Group co-chaired by Jordan and Singapore has established two Regional Training Centres in Amman and Doha focusing on vocational training and public administration respectively. Both training centres are up and running and already conducting courses on a regular basis. These are simple but practical projects which bring immediate benefits to our people.

5 Singapore will organise, specially for AMED members, three new training courses on aviation security, port management and intellectual property protection under the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). Singapore will also organise an AMED Media Roundtable in 2009 bringing together senior Asian and Middle Eastern editors for a discussion on how our media organisations can work better together. For too long, we have depended too much on the Western media for news about each other's regions. It will be good for our editors and journalists to establish direct links with one another. Since the first AMED meeting, we have invited groups of journalists from the Middle East to visit Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia.

6 The interactions between Asia and the Middle East are growing rapidly. It was significant that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia chose to make his first overseas visit to four Asian countries in 2006 after ascending the throne. This sent a clear signal of Asia's rising importance to the Middle East which is increasingly reflected in the economic numbers. Propelled by the re-emergence of China and India on the global stage, Asia has become the fastest growing region in the world. Asia's energy needs have raised the prices of oil and gas ushering in a new era of prosperity for hydrocarbon-rich countries. Direct and portfolio investments by countries in the Middle East in Asia have grown dramatically in recent years, including those by sovereign wealth funds. Islamic finance and banking have become more important in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong.

7 The Middle East has also become a huge opportunity for Asian companies. Trillions of dollars are being spent on infrastructure creating an unprecedented construction boom. Some of the most remarkable cities of the future are being built in the Gulf. In all sectors and professions, Asians are contributing to this amazing transformation. Asian companies from Japan, Korea, China, India and ASEAN are involved in all kinds of projects. South Asians play a big role providing essential manpower from high-level managers and professionals down to manual workers.

8 The Middle East has become more and more important to the Singapore economy. From 2004 to 2007, our bilateral trade with the Middle East shot up by over 50% to reach some US$35 billion last year. Two-way trade and investment will receive a further boost when the recently-negotiated GCC-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (GSFTA) comes into force. We hope that this will be followed by a Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN and the GCC. In fact, both the countries of ASEAN and the GCC have agreed to hold the first meeting of Foreign Ministers this year.

9 We are fortunate that in developing closer ties between Asia and the Middle East, there is little historical baggage. In fact, the more we know one another, the more we appreciate the things we share in common.

10 As our two regions grow, there will be more opportunities for cooperation. I would like to suggest three areas that AMED can focus on. First, AMED can serve as a platform for Asia and the Middle East to share knowledge about each other's development experiences. In the field of public education, for example, many Middle Eastern countries are evaluating the relevance of Asian models to their own needs. Singapore has recently established a Middle East Institute to help us know the region better. We are also promoting the teaching of the Arabic language.

11 Second, AMED can be a vehicle bringing Asia and the Middle East together in new areas of partnership. An area of current interest is renewable energy resources. Abu Dhabi's Masdar Initiative, the world's first attempt to create a zero-carbon, zero-waste city, has attracted global attention. Similarly, Singapore is working with China to develop an Eco-city in the Chinese city of Tianjin, a project Qatar is participating in as a partner in the Singapore consortium. There are many sectors where public institutions and private companies can collaborate for mutual benefit. In Singapore, an Arab cultural centre will be established to catalyse greater contact between Asia and the Middle East. There is a substantial Arab community in Southeast Asia which provides us a ready network. When I visited Yemen in May last year, the Vice Governor of the Hadramaut who hosted me was the great great great grand-nephew of one of Singapore's pioneers, Syed Omar Aljunied, who gave the name to Singapore's oldest mosque and to indeed my own electoral constituency.

12 Third, AMED can become a new partnership of Asian and Middle Eastern countries working together to overcome trans-boundary challenges like energy security, climate change, religious conflict, international terrorism, maritime security and pandemics. These are issues that cannot be handled by a single country or region. We must give some priority to inter-faith understanding. Just a fortnight ago, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia proposed a new inter-faith dialogue that will bring together Islam, Christianity and Judaism to promote inter-religious harmony. This is an idea that we strongly support. The recent agreement between Muslim leaders led by Prince Ghazi of Jordan and the Vatican to establish a permanent forum for Muslim-Catholic dialogue is another positive development. The first meeting will be held in Rome at the end of this year and the next will be held in a Muslim country in 2010. I hope that Singapore, one day, can also be a venue for the forum.

13 What AMED should try to bring about as a long-term goal is a dense network of connections linking governments, companies, NGOs and private individuals. More than ever before, we have a mutual stake in each other's stability, prosperity and security. And, together, we can enhance the prospects for peace and development for 60% of mankind.

14 A few years ago, a 9th century Arab dhow which sank 350 nautical miles south of Singapore was salvaged. Carrying about 60,000 artifacts of Chinese Tang Dynasty ceramics and a small collection of gold and silver ornaments, the dhow was probably headed towards the Western Indian Ocean. On many pieces, the motifs were either Buddhist or Islamic. Laboratory tests showed that the wood used for the construction of the dhow came from the Middle East and Africa except for some teak beams which originated from India's Malabar coast. The wooden planks were stitched together in a pattern identical to that used today for modern dhow construction in Oman. Scholars believe that the 9th century dhow was probably built on the Omani coast. Last year, to our great joy, Sultan Qaboos of Oman agreed to build a replica of the dhow and present it to Singapore so that the Chinese Tang dynasty cargo can be exhibited in its full glory. The symbolism is a beautiful one for us.

15 And, not far from Sharm El Sheikh, near Egypt's border with Sudan, recent excavations at the archaeological site of Berenike showed that it was once a thriving port, successively used by Egyptians, Greeks and Romans for trade with Arabia, Persia, Africa, India and Southeast Asia. At least eleven languages were used in Berenike including Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, Latin and Sanskrit. When, once upon a time, camel caravans travelling through Central Asia and Arab dhows sailing the Indian Ocean connected us, today, we have jet aircraft, container ships, highways, railroads, pipelines and broadband. But it is the same regions which are being re-connected, and descendants of the same peoples all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic meeting again, trading and exchanging ideas. Our meeting today epitomises this exchange. I look forward to a meaningful dialogue that will help build us all a better future.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
5 APRIL 2008