SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN, MINISTER FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY (INDUSTRY) AT THE AUSTRALIAN ALUMNI SINGAPORE (AAS) 61st ANNIVERSARY DINNER, 22 OCTOBER 2016 9.00 PM AT THE MARINA BAY SANDS EXPO & CONVENTION CENTRE
Your Excellency, Mr Philip Green, Australian High Commissioner to Singapore;
Mr Christopher Cheah, President of Australian Alumni Singapore;
Distinguished Guests, Alumni Members, Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Evening!
Introduction
1. I am pleased to join you at the Australian Alumni Singapore’s 61st Anniversary Gala Dinner & Dance. The AAS has grown from strength to strength, and is one of the most active alumni associations in Singapore today. In the past three years, the AAS’ membership has almost tripled from around 560 to 1,500 institutional and individual members.
2. The AAS plays a very important role in promoting ties and building bridges between Australia and Singapore. It began as a platform for returned graduates to interact and forge friendships. Over the years, the association has expanded its activities to include networking among both the Australian and Singapore businesses and professional communities, mentorship, grooming and nurturing of young talent. This is a natural extension of what an alumni association is about, and the AAS has done well. The association has also broadened its outreach, and works closely with partners, such as the Alumni International Singapore (AIS) and the Professionals, Managers, Executives, Technicians (PMET) Division of the Peoples’ Association.
Strong and multi-faceted partnership
3. The success and growth of the association is a broader reflection of the longstanding and multi-faceted relationship that we have between Australia and Singapore. This is a relationship underscored by strong economic links, and close people-to-people ties. Over the years, we’ve been actively working on both sides to strengthen this partnership.
4. We signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in June last year. This partnership agreement charts a long-term plan to strengthen our ties across the pillars of defence and security, trade and investment, innovation and science, and people-to-people links. It was a significant milestone commemorating the 50th anniversary of our bilateral relations.
5. Last week, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was on an official visit to Australia for the inaugural Joint Summit with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull under the CSP. PM Lee was also the first Singapore Prime Minister to address a Joint Sitting of Australia’s Parliament. Our Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of four agreements on Defence training, the upgrading of the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement, cooperation on Innovation and Science, and cooperation on Combating Transnational Drug Crime. Looking ahead, this CSP agreement will continue to be an important underpinning and will pave the way for our bilateral ties and people-to-people exchanges to be strengthened across the board.
Strengthening our economic partnership
6. One important aspect of this partnership is our economic links. This year, in Singapore we embarked on an effort called the Committee on Future Economy (CFE). This is a Committee established by the Prime Minister, and jointly chaired by the Finance Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat and myself. A key part of the Committee’s work is to refine strategies to position Singapore for changes in the global and regional economies over the next decade or so. One key theme is on how we can enhance connectivity, in order for that to be a driver for economic growth. It also underscores the importance of our engagement efforts at various bilateral and multilateral platforms. This is an area where Singapore and Australia are similarly minded.
7. For example, the upgraded Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement is a significant part of our shared vision for greater economic cooperation and integration between our two countries. It will make it easier for our companies to leverage on opportunities in both countries, but also, importantly, position ourselves as gateways for each other’s region. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many Australian government leaders and officials, and we’ve had many conversations about how we can work more closely together, so that Australia enterprises, especially the small and medium enterprises, can partner Singaporean counterparts in order to explore opportunities in a growing Asia. We are also seeing specific outcomes at the business level. For example, Far East Hospitality is already planning to bring its two Australian brands, Vibe and Adina into Singapore, while bringing its Singapore brand Oasia into Australia.
8. In complement to our close bilateral relations, Singapore and Australia also work closely at the multilateral level, in regional and multilateral fora such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
9. The partnership and vision for economic connectivity that we share with Australia are particularly important given the political tone and public opinion on globalisation and economic integration that has taken a negative turn in many parts of the world. Traditionally open economies like the UK and the US are now facing significant challenges in the forms of Brexit and the anti-globalisation rhetoric dominating the US Presidential Election campaign. We will have to work together with like-minded partners like Australia in order to guard against such sentiments, which ultimately will be detrimental to the long term interests of all our peoples.
Growing people-to-people ties
10. Another important dimension of our bilateral ties pertains to our people-to-people ties.
11. Our people-to-people links have continued to strengthen over the years. Currently, there are over 140,000 Singaporean graduates of Australian universities. This has helped to foster strong bonds of friendship, familiarity and trust, which in turn can encourage and facilitate greater cooperation and investments on both sides.
A few years back, Australia’s Foreign Minister Judie Bishop launched the “Reverse Colombo Plan” initiative. Many of us are familiar with the Colombo Plan, where many Singaporeans, myself included, and others from Asia had the benefit of going on the Plan to study in Australia. Australia was working on a reverse Colombo Plan, to bring its students from Australia to Asia to get a sense of developments here. The initiative has been progressing well, and in Singapore alone there have been 800 Reverse Colombo scholars to date. That is a remarkable achievement, and we look forward to its sustained success.
12. We also welcome a significant number of Australian tourists visiting Singapore each year. Since 2012, the Singapore Tourism Board has been promoting Singapore as a holiday destination to Australians with a customised campaign. The slogan is “Get Lost & Find the Real Singapore”. STB thought that it would appeal and resonate with the Australian’s sense of humour and irreverence. The campaign has worked and shown good results, with the number of Australian tourists into Singapore consistently above the one million mark since 2012. Singaporeans are also keen to explore the many unique offerings in Australia, and the number of Singapore tourists to Australia has also grown steadily.
13. Going forward, we are optimistic that tourism flows will increase, and our air connectivity has also grown steadily. Our airlines are keeping up with the demand for flights between our countries. Singapore Airlines recently launched its “Capital Express” route connecting Singapore, Canberra and Wellington. With this addition, SIA is now operating more than 120 scheduled flights a week to Australia, up from 112 a year ago.
14. We have also seen rich cultural exchanges over the years. The Australian High Commission has played a significant role in deepening our people to people links, especially when we commemorated our Golden Jubilee and 50 years of our bilateral ties last year. I think you would remember that the High Commission organised 50 Australian-style barbeques across the island, including Toa Payoh, Tampines and Jurong East. The event brought Singaporeans and Australians together over our shared love for good food and good company.
15. In 2015, we also welcomed four very special “visitors” from Down Under, the koalas who now have their own Singaporean nicknames: Cantik, Sayang, Manja, and Nila. In Malay, Cantik means “beautiful”, Sayang refers to “love”, Manja means “affectionate”, and Nila is derived from Sang Nila Utama. During their stay at the Singapore Zoo, they have brought much joy to many Singaporeans, especially the young ones, and many have flocked to see these furry ambassadors from Australia.
16. I believe these examples and initiatives which I have highlighted provide a broad sense of the close relationship between our two countries. It is a relationship that is strong and multi-faceted, and one that has much potential and room to grow further as we jointly pursue future opportunities together as like-minded countries.
Conclusion
17. Tonight, I also want to recognise and appreciate the Australian High Commission’s support in deepening our bilateral relationship. I would especially like to thank the outgoing High Commissioner Philip Green for his contributions. Mr Green has worked extremely hard to strengthen our bilateral ties during his tenure. He has a clear vision and constructive ideas for what Singapore and Australia can accomplish together. To this end, he has worked closely with various Singapore Government agencies to build on our existing ties and to explore new areas of cooperation. We wish Mr Green every success in his next assignment. Thank you very much for serving both countries so well.
18. Let me conclude by once again congratulating the AAS on your 61st Anniversary. As our bilateral relationship continues to grow, and we deepen our cultural and social ties, associations such as the AAS play an important role in bridging our two peoples, bringing them close together. I urge you to continue your good work in promoting ties within the alumni, and with the broader community.
19. Thank you very much for inviting me here tonight. Thank you.