Singapore-Pacific high-level visit encourages collaboration
Deputy Minister Russ Kun attended
the 3rd Singapore-Pacific high-level study visit held at the
Istana, the official residence and Office of the President of
Singapore, 20-22 May.
The visit hosted by Singapore's
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan received
Pacific ministers and senior officials from Nauru, the Cook
Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French
Polynesia, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea,
and the Solomon Islands.
This visit acts as a platform for
Singapore and the Pacific to foster closer diplomatic ties and
exchange views in areas of common interests for instance climate
change, sustainable development, and urban planning.
A series of briefings on
Singapore's experiences in port management, water management,
economic development and vocational education among others were
presented during the two-day visit.
Singapore's Minister Balakrishnan
calls for a collective commitment in order to deal with existential
challenges, and more importantly "to work together because in this
volatile, difficult and fractious world, it is necessary for tiny
island states to work together".
The first ever Singapore-Pacific
high-level study visit convened in 2012. //