SPEECH BY GEORGE YEO, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
AT THE LAUNCH OF THE SPANISH EDITION OF MINISTER MENTOR LEE KUAN YEW’S MEMOIRS AT CASA LLOTJA
ON 17 NOVEMBER 2008, BARCELONA, SPAIN
Mr Miguel Valls, President of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce
Mr Josep Manuel Basañez, First Vice-President of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Honorary Consul-General in Barcelona of the Republic of Singapore
Excellencies and Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
NEW SPAIN IN NEW ASIA
Introduction
1 Let me first thank all of you for joining me and members of my delegation at this launch of the Spanish edition of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s memoir. It is a happy event reflecting Singapore’s growing interest in the Spanish-speaking world and what we see to be growing interest by the Spanish-speaking world in Asia and in Singapore.
2 I would like to thank in particular the Barcelona Chambers of Commerce and a group of Singaporean businessmen led by Philip Ng, Singapore's Non-Resident Ambassador to Chile for jointly sponsoring this publication. We owe a particular debt of gratitude to Mr Josep Manuel Basañez for leading the entire effort. Singapore is very fortunate to have him as our Honorary Consul General in Barcelona.
New Asia
3 Unfortunately, we are now going through a terrible global economic crisis which may drag on for a while. We do not know how long it will last. We still do not know for sure what caused all this to happen and historians will no doubt debate this for years to come. However, we can be reasonably certain of two things. First, the world after this crisis will be a different world and, second, Asia will become much more prominent in world affairs when all this is over.
4 Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, a new multi-polar world is emerging. While the world still needs American leadership, and there is great hope pinned on Obama to provide that leadership, there is a new concert of powers which has to be recognised comprising – in addition to the US, Europe and Japan – China, Russia, India, Brazil and one or two other countries. In the last two months, major financial institutions in the world have been wholly or partially nationalised to ensure the flow of liquidity. Before these institutions can be re-privatised, a new international financial framework must be put in place. This has to be done in the next few years or else the wholesale involvement of governments in international financial flows will give rise to a whole new set of problems.
5 Looking back years from now, the three months from the Beijing Olympic Games through the financial meltdown to the election of Obama will mark a historical break from the past to the future in the 21st century. He who can discern that future will benefit much by early positioning. One obvious element is the rise of a new Asia.
6 Asia is of course a huge continent which can be roughly divided into five parts – East, Southeast, South, West and Central Asia.
7 The re-emergence of China and India on the global stage is transforming the whole of East Asia and South Asia of which they are respectively by far the most important components. The ten countries of Southeast Asia or ASEAN in between, will be more or less carried along by this historical tide. Together, the populations of East, Southeast and South Asia make up more than half the world’s population. In this region, urbanisation is happening at a speed and on a scale never seen before in the world. Every year, millions of graduates are produced, many in science and engineering. China already has more Internet users than the US. To be sure, the progress will not be smooth. This is a historical transformation which will be marked by ups and downs, by political upheavals and profound cultural change.
8 Central and West Asia, which are mainly Islamic, are being pulled along by this tide. They are benefiting hugely from the increased demand of oil and gas. At a deeper level, the evolution of Islamic civilization itself will be shaped by the rise of Asia in the coming decades. It is a development which Europe should be fully aware of because Europe which borders the world of Islam from a different direction will also be affected.
9 Thus, from all dimensions - economic, political and cultural - the new Asia now emerging will change the world. In the 16th century, had Asians been more aware of the profound changes taking place in Europe at that time, their response to the European challenge might have been very different. Because they did not see what was already happening, they were unprepared and the rest is history.
New Spain
10 Spain was of course the first European power, together with Portugal, knocking on the doors of Asia. I do not claim to understand the Spanish character but there is a spirit of adventure in it which at critical moments enables the Spanish people to break out of their regional parochialism to conquer the world.
11 For decades after the Spanish Civil War, Spain turned inwards. After the long dictatorship of Franco ended in 1975, the country re-created itself, blossoming into a tolerant democracy. After joining Europe in 1986, its per capita income grew rapidly making Spain the 8th biggest economy in the world today. In recent years, Spain seems to have become a global sports power as well.
12 Since the 1990s, Spanish companies have done remarkably well in Latin America. With the Hispanisation of North America, Spain will enjoy a ready advantage there as well.
13 The missing piece is Asia for which Spain, in my opinion, needs a comprehensive strategy. For Spain not to be fully engaged in a continent which is reshaping the world would be unworthy of its own past when Spanish adventurers and missionaries thought nothing of crossing an uncharted Pacific in the pursuit of God, gold and glory in China and India.
14 Some years ago in 2001, Prime Minister Aznar had planned an official visit to Singapore where he was to make a major speech on Spain’s new Asia Policy. I was asked to introduce him and looked forward to what he was going to say. Unfortunately, because of the untimely death of his father, his visit was cancelled and we did not benefit from hearing at first hand that new Asia policy.
15 In fairness, I must say that Spain’s trade account with Asia is significant and rapidly growing. Trade with China reached US$25b last year although heavily in China’s favour. Trade with other parts of Asia have been more balanced totalling US$8b for Japan, US$8b for ASEAN and US$4b for India. Spanish investments in Asia, however, are much less impressive. Spanish banks on the whole are poorly represented in Asia.
16 Sensing the flow, Spanish businessmen are playing a pioneering role. Casa Asia was set up in Barcelona in 2001 to increase awareness of Asia and strengthen links between Spain and the Asia-Pacific. It is an initiative of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Catalonian Autonomous Government, the Barcelona City Council and the Madrid City Council. Just last week, the chief executive of your trade promotion agency Invest in Spain, Mr Javier Sanz, was in Singapore to encourage Singapore businessmen to look at opportunities in Spain.
17 Not surprisingly, Catalonia is at the leading edge. In January 2007, we in Singapore received a business delegation from Barcelona. It was led by the Second Deputy Mayor, Mr Jordi Portabella. Consul General Basañez and the President of the International Commission of Chamber of Commerce, Mr Joan Canals were members of the team.
Spain and Singapore
18 For reasons not entirely clear to me, the economic links between Spain and Singapore are not substantial. For both trade and investment, Spain ranks No 12 among our European partners, way below the UK, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. You are our 41st largest trading partner, which is odd given the size of your economy. Whatever the reasons, and part of the blame must surely be on the Singapore side, the good news is that there are easy gains to be made. The translation of the Lee Kuan Yew’s memoirs into Spanish is perhaps a harbinger of things to come.
19 Singapore is a natural partner for Spain in the new Asia. We are the most Westernised city in Asia with deep links to East, Southeast, South and West Asia. Indeed, Singapore’s cultural and genetic make-ups are drawn from these different parts of Asia. We are the foremost trading hub in Asia, with very well-developed air and sea transportation. Our port and airport are among the most sophisticated in theworld. We are also a major financial centre operating in a conservatively-regulated environment which has served us well in the present crisis. Our educational and healthcare facilities serve a much wider region.
20 In recent years, we have invested heavily in knowledge-based industries with a strong emphasis on R&D. This has spawned new sectors in biomedicine, nanotechnology, water technology and multimedia, adding to our strengths in electronics, engineering and petrochemicals.
21 All over Asia, there is considerable interest in the transformation of Singapore from a squalid, over-populated Third World city to a modern metropolis with a pleasant living environment. Because of the role played by Lee Kuan Yew as Singapore’s first Prime Minister, his memoirs have been translated into many languages and widely read by political leaders, business leaders and officials.
22 We are creating in one part of Singapore a city of the future, which we call One North, because Singapore is one degree north of the Equator. It has two poles, the Biopolis for biomedical research and the Fusionopolis for interactive media development. Mr Alfonso Vegara, President of the Fundacion Metropoli and also Singapore’s Honorary Consul-General in Madrid, is an advisor the Singapore Government for the One North project.
23 Singapore shares much in common with Barcelona. The two cities look at themselves and look out to the world in the same way. Both have been placing great importance on the human spirit, on the development of museums and the arts. We are complementary hubs. We can therefore expect Barcelona to lead the way in strengthening bilateral economic links between Spain and Singapore.
Conclusion
24 There is no downside to a stronger relationship between Spain and Singapore. We should not let the current economic crisis dampen our spirit of adventure. Quite the opposite. The crisis should spur us on to new opportunities and there are certainly bountiful new opportunities for a new Spain in a new Asia.
25 I have in my office a wooden carving of Don Quixote which I bought many years ago in Cancun. I place it where I can see it everyday so that I’m reminded, on the one hand, not to tilt at windmills too often because that must lead to grief but, on the other, also to tilt at them from time to time because without a venturesome spirit there can be no great advance. There is in the Spanish people the spirit of Don Quixote and let me say here that Singapore will be honoured to be your Sancho Panza in Asia.
George Yeo
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