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Celebrating 50 years of British-S’pore partnership

While the main focus in Singapore this year is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of independence, 2015 also marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the United Kingdom.

President Tony Tan reviewing an honour guard accompanied by Britain’s Prince Philip during his State Visit  to the UK last year. The visit celebrated the countries’ shared heritage, while looking forward to future opportunities. Photo: AP

President Tony Tan reviewing an honour guard accompanied by Britain’s Prince Philip during his State Visit to the UK last year. The visit celebrated the countries’ shared heritage, while looking forward to future opportunities. Photo: AP

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While the main focus in Singapore this year is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of independence, 2015 also marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the United Kingdom.

That might strike many as unremarkable. After all, the UK and Singapore enjoy a long shared history, so surely it would be natural for the UK to be one of the first to recognise the new nation of Singapore. But while that may be true, it is still worth celebrating a relationship that remains of great importance to the UK as we look ahead to future challenges.

At the heart of that relationship is a shared commitment to a just world based on the rule of law, one in which we can provide for the prosperity and security of all our people.

To that end, both countries need to work together to address conflict and its causes, which include poverty and inequality. We need to reduce barriers to trade and investment, implement the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, and enhance our innovation and research links to create knowledge-based economies that are fit for the future.

We need to deepen our defence cooperation and create new collaborations in areas such as cyber and maritime security, and humanitarian and disaster relief. And we need to work together to create genuinely smart nations that can deliver effective and efficient public services to our citizens, and which will make our cities liveable and sustainable.

That emphasis on sustainability also underpins our approach to climate change, one of the global threats that we must face together. As the United Nations Secretary-General has said, we may be the last generation that can get a grip on this issue. We will be failing our children and grandchildren if we do not make every effort to agree on a new climate framework in Paris in December this year.

Another global challenge we must address concerns the rise of extremism. The horrific events in Pakistan, Nigeria, France and elsewhere, as well as the ongoing crisis in Syria, are a stark illustration of the threat. It cannot be a case of whether to stand up to those who are willing to use violence to achieve their aims, the question is how we do it.

Our response needs to be global, inclusive and comprehensive. The UK and Singapore are working together in the coalition against Islamic State, and we should look to draw on interfaith and community programmes that have worked well, such as in the Republic.

CLOSE COOPERATION

We will pursue these issues in our own way and in our respective groupings, whether the EU, UN Security Council or Group of Seven for the UK, or the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), the East Asia Summit or the Group of 77 for Singapore, as well as together in the Commonwealth. Indeed, one of the great advantages of working together is the combined audience that we can reach.

Last year’s State Visit to the UK by Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam touched on many of these themes. It also celebrated our shared heritage, while looking forward to future opportunities.

In the months since, we have been delivering on the commitments made then. The new UK-Singapore Innovation and Research Partnership is being rolled out. Mr Tan recently attended a ceremony to mark the groundbreaking for the new medical school that is only one manifestation of our innovation and research ties, and more specifically, the partnership between Imperial College London and Nanyang Technological University.

During the State Visit by Mr Tan, we announced that the UK would be arranging a GREAT British Week in Singapore in March this year. The focus will be on British excellence in innovation, creativity and education, and the events aim to enhance UK-Singapore collaborations in these areas, providing opportunities for the companies of both countries, large and small, to create new connections and trade and investment wins.

Earlier this week saw the inaugural UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue and Renminbi Forum, bringing together officials and companies to agree on further steps to boost cooperation between our two leading international financial centres.

We are not starting from scratch, of course. There are around 1,000 UK companies in Singapore, many using it as a regional base; some have been here for well over 50 years. Singapore is the destination for nearly 50 per cent of UK exports to ASEAN. Singaporean companies have significant investments in the UK, amounting to nearly three-quarters of Singapore’s investment in the EU.

We live in challenging times. The world is better connected than ever before, bringing great opportunities, but also multiple threats. So, as Singapore celebrates its Golden Jubilee, and the UK and Singapore mark a similar milestone, we must build on our longstanding partnership to ensure that our countries can address them, so we can enjoy increasing prosperity and greater security, now and in the future.

That will be the main objective of the discussions that UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will have in Singapore today during his official visit here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Antony Phillipson is the British High Commissioner to Singapore.

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