BEYOND SG

6th Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Conference

On Monday, the Foreign, Defence and Trade Ministers of Singapore met their Australian counterparts for a meeting to discuss how we can strengthen bilateral relations. Our overall relations are excellent marked by close cooperation across all sectors and a high degree of trust. There is also considerable mutual affection going back to colonial days. When we became independent, Australia contributed significantly to our nation-building through the Colombo Plan and many other programmes. The meeting went very well. An informal breakfast planned for an hour and a half became a retreat of three and a half hours.

George Yeo

SAJMC breakfast

 

SAJMC Meeting

 

Walking with FM Stephen Smith to the function room

 

SAJMC Press Conference

 

Pre-lunch reception with SM Goh Chok Tong

 

Australian Ministers calling on Prime Minister

 

Youtube Links:

Minister George Yeo's Opening Remarks at the 6th SAJMC Joint Press
Conference, 27 July 2009

Minister George Yeo's Opening Remarks at the Launch of the
Singapore-Australia Dialogue, 27 July 2009

Video Link

Tao Te Ching and How to Cure Cough

My friend Chee Meng sent me this:

"The Secret of Health is to be sick of sickness -- 71st verse of Tao Te Ching"

 

Upon reflection, I wrote the following:

 

I used to be the coughing kid while I was working in MAS. My chronic cough happened twice a year and lasted about 50 days! And Tao Te Ching is right - I got so sick of being sick, i declared war against my bad cough. The following are my holistic treatment (Exclusion Clause: I am not a quack, don't do this at home without medical consultation with your doctor but this works for me!)

1. Read up everything I know about cough on the net and found the root cause- I have rhinitis - meaning that lots of mucus is produced excesuavely when there are dust particles around me. Installed a high powered ar filter with UV light in office and at home to minimise dust mites accumulation

2. I found a great doctor at Chinatown plaza who specialised in curing cough. My family members now see him whenever the itch in the throat starts.

3. We need sunlight to produce vitamin D, which is vital in fighting viral infection. So I run in the forest under the hot sun and get a bit of solar radiation. When all else fail, I go to the sun tanning studio to get artificial sunlight especially during rainy seasons. Moderate exposure to artificial sunlight is unlikely to get skin cancer. The keyword is moderation.

 

4. I am treated by an osteopathy specialist (a western medical approach that treats you holistically). I used to take multi-vitamins thinking that it is a vitamin buffet for the kiasu. Unfortunately, it did not help much. It turns out that ionic magnesium and folic acid in liquid form are good for me. Yup, I know doctors prescibe folic acid for pregnant ladies but its benefits are numerous.

5. Go to the outdoors! I now run 3 times a week at MacRitchie Reservoir or th Botanical Gardens. I think the ions from the trees do you a lot of good.

6. Find the right job and find your happy niche. Less stress means less weakening of your immune system.

7. Do something new and fun.

8. Play with your kids and be a kid.

Harold Fock

ASEAN Meetings (Part III)

High points in the last two days were the US accession to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and discussions about Myanmar and North Korea (DPRK). On Myanmar, the tone of the US and Europe has changed but the call on Myanmar to release Aung San Suu Kyi was unanimous. I talked about the importance of continuing economic engagement. On DPRK, everyone condemned the nuclear test and urged North Korea to return to the Six Party Talks.

George Yeo

ASEAN plus Three Group Photo

 

EAS FMs Informal Consultations

 

Group Photo - EAS FMs Informal Consultations

 

Minister with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov at the ASEAN-Russia PMC

 

Minister exchanging greetings with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the ASEAN-US PMC

 

Minister exchanging greetings with Australian FM Stephen Smith prior to the bilateral meeting with Australia

 

Minister greeting EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana before their bilateral meeting

 

Minister with Thai FM Kasit

 

Minister chatting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

 

Minister signing the Instrument of Extension of the TAC

 

Completion of the Signing Ceremony

 ARF gala dinner @ Trisara

ASEAN Meetings in Phuket (Part II)

Minister shaking hands with Thai PM Vejjajiva

ASEAN FMs call on Thai PM

 

Group photo at AMM Opening Ceremony

 

Group photo at AMM Retreat

 

AMM Retreat

 

Group photo before meeting at SEAMWFZ Commission

 

Minister and Indonesia FM Pak Hassan strolling to AMM working lunch

 

AMM Plenary

 

Working lunch

ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Phuket

After the Pattaya debacle, ASEAN Foreign Ministers arrived in Phuket to very tight security.  Despite the heavy presence of uniformed personnel, Thai hospitality surrounds you.  It sometimes seems everyone is bowing, clasping hands, wishing you 'sawadee kap', offering you flower garlands.  I always feel that my response to their good wishes is insufficient.

We wrapped up much of our business by Monday afternoon.  Tuesday is a light day but Wednesday and Thursday will be a series of meetings in different combinations with ASEAN partners including the US, China, Russia, Japan, India, Australia, NZ, Europe and others, ending with the ASEAN Regional Forum.  Having chaired these meetings last year, I know how heavy the burden is on the Thai Chair, FM Kasit.  However, he retains his sense of humour and has the ability to summarise our discussions in a concise, succinct way, and brought the the first set of meetings to a close ahead of time.  It helps that Phuket provides a conducive environment.

George Yeo

Warm greetings on arrival

 

Delegation convoy arriving at hotel

 

At meeting with High Level Panel

 

High Legal Experts Group

 

Reviewing documents

 

At working dinner reception

  

Mingling with other Foreign Ministers

 

Dinner

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Having just come back from a different time zone, I half expected to be dozing off during the movie. But for those of us who're fans of Harry Potter, the movie was absorbing. There were many bits I could not piece together immediately but that didn't affect the enjoyment of the special effects and the subtle characterisations. Though long, time passed by quickly and unnoticed. Expecting still a large chunk ahead, I zipped out to the toilet only to discover when I came back that the movie was almost over.

This was Youth Empire's annual movie event. It was nice to be among young people. I was glad to fly home in time from the NAM Summit in Egypt to see the show with my family. My kids are about Harry Potter's age and grew up with him. We've watched all of them together except for this latest (one overseas, one down with a cough). Watching Harry, Ron and Hermione mature reminded me and my wife of our own children growing up.

There are still two more Harry Potter movies to go. Sometimes I wish they would never end.

George Yeo

Bilateral Meetings at Sharm El Sheikh

The NAM Summit is an occasion for bilateral meetings on the side. Egypt is in the Chair. Thailand FM Kasit kindly hosted tea for ASEAN FMs to meet on Monday afternoon. I had bilateral meetings with the FM of Cuba, India, Haiti and Bangladesh. President Rahmon of Tajikistan asked for a bilateral meeting because of his interest in closer ties with Singapore.

George Yeo

Indian FM S M Krishna

 

Informal ASEAN FM's meeting

 

Meeting with Indian FM S M Krishna

 

Minister calling on Tajik President Emomali Rahmon

 

Exchanging greetings with Egypt FM Ahmed Aboul Gheit

 

Greeting Bangladeshi FM Dipu Moni

 

Meeting Cuban FM Bruno Rodriquez

 

With Haiti FM Alrich Nicolas

 

With Indonesian FM Hassan

 

Shaking hands with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon

 

Thai FM Kasit greeting Minister 

 

Calls on Syrian President, PM and FM

On Sunday morning, I called on Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Presidential Palace. The palace grounds were lovely, set on a hill. The building itself was stately without being garish or ostentatious.

President Bashar, a trained opthamologist, welcomed me warmly. He spoke fluent English. Having been influenced by the western media, I was pleasantly surprised by his rationality and open-mindedness. He spoke positively of President Obama's new approach to the problems of the Middle East, emphasizing the importance of not losing momentum. At the same time, he took a realistic view of what was possible. President Bashar recognised the growing importance of Asia and viewed Syria's relations with Singapore in that light. We agreed that much could be done to expand our economic cooperation. Tourism is one obvious sector where opportunities abound. The Prime Minister, whom I met later that morning, informed me that Shria needed another 100,000 beds for the tourism industry. It should also be easy to increase the flow of two-way trade.

A new chapter has opened in Singapore's relations with Syria with the establishment of diplomatic relations last year. FM Moualem happily accepted my invitation to visit Singapore and promised to come early.

George Yeo

Minister calling on President Bashar Al-Assad

 

President Bashar bidding farewell to Minister

 

PM Mohammad Naji Al-Otari greeting Minister

 

Minister calling on PM Mohammad Najai Al-Otari

 

FM Walid showing Minister and Mrs Yeo in the restaurant

  

Lunch with FM Walid and Mrs Walid

 

Gift Exchange

Meeting Singapore Students in Damascus

In recent years, the number of Muslim religious students studying in various institutions in Damascus has grown.  There are now about 70 of them in Syria.  The Islam taught here is moderate reflecting the philosophy of the multi-religious Syrian state.  The cost of studying in Syria is also not expensive. The Syrians are  a warm and friendly people who would readily extend assistance to our young men and women.  MUIS now endorses Syria as a good country for our religious students to go too.

 

MUIS makes special efforts to keep in touch with our religious students overseas.  Dr Bakrie has become my travel companion.  Three years ago, he brought me to visit our students in Yemen, and last year our students in Cairo.

 

On Saturday night, I hosted dinner for our students in Damascus including family members. My wife and I were very touched by the preparations they made for our gathering.  The religious students wore robes which they tailored for the occasion, each costing about S$50 I was told.  They  look pretty smart in them. They also put up a small performance and gave us gifts.

 

One problem they face is the difficulty of getting student visas.   Visas

are tightly controlled because of the government's fear of radical students from abroad.  I raised this issue with the Syrian Foreign Minister.  He responded positively when I proposed a government-to-government agreement as we also do not want to send them radical students.  MFA will now work with MUIS on this.

 

George Yeo

 

 

Dinner Reception with Singaporean Student Community in Syria

Greeting Singaporeans

 

 

 

 

Making remarks

 

 

Presentation of Table Flag

 

 

Performance by students

 

 

At the dinning table

 

 

Dr Al-Balkri with Sophie

 

 

 

Group Photo

 

Group Photo

 

Photo with Singaporean family

 

 

 

 

 

Visit to Aleppo

Aleppo is the name of a distant place I first encountered reading about the Crusades and later in Shakespeare's Macbeth while in secondary school.  I never imagined one day visiting Aleppo until a few weeks ago when the Grand Mufti of Syria, Shaikh Dr Ahmad Bader Eddin al-Hassoun, who is from Aleppo, invited me to visit.  We met when he was in Singapore to deliver MUIS' Distinguished Visitor's Lecture and knew I was going to Syria on a bilateral visit.

 

As the Aleppo airport was temporarily shut down for repairs, I went by road (actually a beautiful highway) from Damascus, a journey of 4 over hours.It was a smooth ride with rather pleasant rest stops (clean toilets, cups of coffee and tea and all kinds of delightful pastries).

 

The Grand Mufti welcomed the Singapore delegation with the greatest warmth and hospitality.  I attended Friday prayers at his mosque and was invited to address the congregation after his sermon.  There was a short reception afterwards when I was introduced to the Catholic Armenian Archibishop Msgr Boutros Mariati.  We then went to the Grand Mufti's house for a lunch which his wife had personally prepared.  As with all Syrian meals, it was a large spread.

 

We then went for a quick tour of the great citadel built by Saladin which looked a little like the fortress in the Lord of the Rings.  Later in the afternoon, the Grand Mufti invited me to attend Mass at the Catholic Armenian Church.  Archbishop Mariati embraced us when we arrived.  The Mass was said in both Armenian and Arabic.  The Armenian rite is somewhat different from the Latin rite but recognisably Catholic.  Holy Communion was served to the mouth with the bread dipped into wine.

 

After Mass, Archbishop Mariati spoke words of welcome to both the Grand Mufti and to me.  I was invited to speak first. The Grand Mufti then gave a moving sermon about motherhood.  At the reception, a number of ladies expressed their high regard for the Grand Mufti. A nun said that he was a mufti for all Syrians.

When the Grand Mufti was in Singapore, he impressed everyone he met with his open mind, his big heartedness, his wisdom and his spirituality. Religion serves human beings, not the other way around.  Human beings are more important than temples, mosques or churches.  Countries should be organised on a secular basis, not a religioius basis, so that citizens of all faiths are fairly treated.  The policy of the Syrian state towards religion is not unlike what we have in Singapore.

 

Before I went to Syria, Aleppo seemed very far away.  It is no longer so in my mind and in my heart.

 

George Yeo

 

Sheikh Ahmad delivering his Sermon

 

 

 

Making remarks at Friday prayers

 

Minister and Sheikh making their way out

 

Sheikh Ahmad introducing selected attendees of the Friday prayers

 

Sheikh Ahmad presenting a verse from the Koran to Minister

 

 

 

At Sheikh Ahmad residence

 

Sheikh Ahmad serving Minister food at lunch

 

Group photo on the rooftop of Sheikh Ahmad's residence

 

 

With Sheikh Ahmad and the Arch-Bishop on a swing

 

Mass at the Armenian Church

 

Minister and Mrs Yeo receiving the Holy Communion

 

Making remarks

 

Archbishop presenting Armenian handicraft to Minister

 

Group photo at the Armenian Church

 

 

Bidding farewell

 

Group photo at the Citadel

 

 

 At the top of the Citadel