New Era of Bangladesh - Singapore Diplomatic relationship By Srimal Fernando I thediplomaticsociety.asia

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New Era of Bangladesh - Singapore Diplomatic relationship

By Srimal Fernando, Global Editor

The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is committed to a dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship with Singapore. Bangladesh and Singapore are looking forward to an ever-expanding relationship between the two countries. Both nations cover a wide range of areas that takes place at multiple levels and share similar opinions on many international issues. The Bangladesh High Commissioner is His Excellency Mahbub  Uz Zaman  a career diplomat who comes to represent his country in Singapore with a wealth of experience on international affairs. He   will be of great benefit to the bilateral relations between Singapore and Bangladesh.

 

On 25th October 2012 the High Commissioner presented his credentials to the President of Singapore His Excellency Tony Tan. On a visit to Singapore the Global Editor for Foreign Exchange spoke with Bangladesh High Commissioner Mahbub Uz Zaman about his posting in Singapore and his important role in the bilateral relations between the two countries.

High Commissioner said “The bilateral trade between the two countries has now reached S$ 1.7 billion and our 100,000 expatriate Bangladeshi workers contribute immensely to the national economy of Bangladesh and to the economic growth of Singapore”

In Singapore, the 100,000Bangladeshi workers are employed in the construction, ship building, maintenance and conservancy sectors. It was estimated that there were about 60 percent of Bangladeshi workers employed on construction industry. Overall economic gains from Bangladeshi worker remittances rose to US $ 426.91 million in 2012 from Singapore compared to US$ 235.76 million in 2011 (Bangladesh Bank).

The bilateral trade turn over between these two economies has now reached new heights of S$ 1.7 billion. Bangladesh recently received US $1000 million in investments from Singapore according to the Bangladesh High Commission in Singapore.

The many high-level exchanges between leaders, ministers and prominent people of both countries reflect the strong and growing relations between the two countries. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Dr Dipu Moni paid a visit to Singapore on June, 2012. Her visit was followed by a similar mission by Mr Masgos Zulkifi State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore in September 2012. There has been a flurry of high-level interaction between Singaporean and Bangladeshis consisting of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB) and the Bangladesh Business Chamber of Singapore.

The fastest-growing sectors of Bangladesh economy, such as textile, spinning, frozen foods, leather, electronics, ceramics, engineering, pharmaceutical  industry, development of power sector are competitive investment sectors for Singaporeans.

The spectrums of bilateral relations between the two countries are growing rapidly. Through enhanced multiple sectors trade, commerce and culture are complementarities between Singapore and Bangladesh vibrant partnership. 

 Source http://www.thediplomaticsociety.asia/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=647:new-era-of-bangladesh-singapore-diplomatic-relationship&catid=16:home&Itemid=25

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Update By Srimal Fernando Global Editor

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Tshering Tobgay the newly-elected Prime Minister of Bhutan By Srimal Fernando I thediplomaticsociety.asia

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Tshering Tobgay the newly-elected Prime Minister of Bhutan

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay

By Srimal Fernando, Global Editor

Bhutan’s newly-elected People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay selected India as his first foreign visit from 30th August to September 4th, 2013. He discussed many areas of mutual interest to both countries, including politics, security, development, economics and culture.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won a historic landslide victory with 32 of 47 parliamentary seats under its charismatic leadership of Tshering Tobgay in the 2013 elections.  The party also captured   54.88 per cent of the popular vote in the last elections.

Tshering Tobgay of the People’s Democratic Party pledged to continue to fight poverty, empowering women, protecting the countries environment, supporting youth and children during the last  election campaign.

The People’s Democratic Party started out in 2007 forming the main opposition party previously with only 2 parliamentary seats in the 2008 election. The Party has picked up 32 seats in the  2013 with a  impressive performance led by Tshering Tobgay.

Coming from a background of being a civil servant Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay established and headed the National Technical Training Authority in 1998. He also served as a Director in the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources in Bhutan from 2003 to 2007.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay is an intellectual, a graduate of bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of  Pittsburgh and also earned a master's degree in public administration from  Harvard University in 2004.

Source http://www.thediplomaticsociety.asia/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=646:tshering-tobgay-the-newly-elected-prime-minister-of-bhutan&catid=16:home&Itemid=25

Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore is a popular venue to experience Italian culture By Srimal Fernando I thediplomaticsociety.asia

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Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore is a popular venue to experience Italian culture

By Srimal Fernando, Global Editor

Italy is a country with a wealth of historical and cultural heritage that astonishes the world. The country combines art, history and contemporary fashion with stunning natural landscape. This overwhelming diversity makes the cultural scene of Italy very fascinating. Unparalleled in its diversity, the country offers delights ranging from fine wines and exceptional cuisine to high art and great historical remnants. It reflects the spirit of enlightenment and elegance, existed among its people. Italy produced some of the greatest painters, sculptors, poets, musicians and architects in history. The country’s culture has a rich history that includes art, architecture, popular traditions and customs. The people of Italy are warm, welcoming and enjoy sharing the pleasures of life with others.

Ms Veronica Manson, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore with students 

The Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore located at the Ever shin and Century complex facing Beach Road provides a relaxed and friendly atmosphere for a wide range of social and cultural activities and remains a popular venue for several cultural events, concerts, seminars, film screenings and festivals, performances, cooking classes and thematic events to promote Italian culture and strengthen the cultural ties between Singapore and Italy.

The Cultural Institute in Singapore is one of the ninety Italian Cultural Institutes located globally. The two centers in Jakarta and Singapore are the only two Italian Cultural Institutes located in South East Asia. The CELI and CILS Italian language Certificate courses are taught by native speakers with extensive experience in teaching Italian as a second language. These certificate courses are accredited by Università per Stranieri di Perugia as well as Università per Stranieri di Siena. Approximately 10,000 Singaporean students took Italian languages at the Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore in the past 15 years aimed towards developing the Italian language.

Ms Veronica Manson is a highly dedicated, well-spoken and experienced Director who runs the affairs with her efficient team at the Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore. Ms Manson, a Law Graduate from the University of Milan brings a wealth of experience to the job of Director of the Cultural Institute in Singapore.

In an exclusive interview with Foreign Exchange Global Editor the Director Ms Veronica Manson said “Singapore is a multi-cultural fast phased society. Students over here learn Italian for the passion and love the language and Italian culture.”

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Every year over 40 cultural events are organized by the Center and hosts a series of cultural, seasonal and special events, operas and art exhibitions.

Alberto Cristini

First Swim Painting Performance in Singapore by Alberto Cristini on 24th August  in collaboration with ONE° 15 Marina Club was one of the most recent events  organized by the Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore.

Brian E Werner, General Manager of ONE Degree 15 Marina Club in Singapore, Veronica Manson, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore and Alberto Cristini

In Celebration of the 200th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata based on the novel by Alexander Dumas, casting Nancy Yuen as Violetta Valery and Kota Murakami as Alfredo Germont and directed by Stephen Barlow in collaboration with Singapore Lyric Opera Orchestra and Mezzotono - Italian Vocal Orchestra calling themselves Ambassadors of Italian music, were the renowned international events organized by The Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore. The Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore is a place that promotes creative dialogue about Italian culture and arts in Singapore.

Source http://www.thediplomaticsociety.asia/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=645:italian-cultural-institute-in-singapore-is-a-popular-venue-to-experience-italian-culture&catid=16:home&Itemid=25

Singapore the Garden City with a proud heritage By Srimal Fernando I Daily Mirror

Daily Mirror MONDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2013 (Impulse Page 2 ) 01:16
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Singapore the Garden City with a proud heritage

By Srimal Fernando

Singapore is one of the perfect tourist destinations that touch once soul like no other country. This great nation lives truly up to the title “Singapura” meaning "Lion city". “Onward Singapore” or “Majulah Singapura” composed by Zubair Said in 1958 is the inspirational noteworthy national anthem of the beloved countrymen .The country with a proud heritage of a rich and living culture is the fastest growing wealth center in the world

 

. Through urban planning model Singapore has transformed from a city crowded with buildings to a clean eco- friendly City in a Garden. Unlike any other country in the world Singapore with 5.1 million people is an outstanding example of 63 islands. Singaporean independence campaigner Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singapore was the towering figure widely credited with molding the island nation into one of Asia’s wealthiest countries. The culture and the arts of Singapore passed through several stages during its history. The British and Japanese, occupation of Singapore saw a new era of political, cultural and religious landscape of Singapore until the country gained Independence on 9 August 1965 from Malaysia. Each of the colonial rulers who ruled Singapore left their imprint on the current inhabitants of the country.  Singaporeans were so practical  in their approach to the art of building  high rise towers .Country has theaters  and cinemas  and is a fashionable place . The city possesses an enormous cultural richness with uncountable attractions to see and offers an unmatched experience to the travelers.The Merlion a mythical creature with a head of a lion and a body of a fish   is used as the mascot .It is one of the highest-esteemed attractions in the country. The innovative multi storey SkyPark Marina Bay Sands features three 55-story hotel towers is the  greatest engineering achievements that unhesitatingly leap into the future. There is no end to the breath-taking sites visitors can see in Singapore. The  Sentosa Island  resorts ,Seloso beach ,Universal Studio , Underwater World ,Oceanarium, attract thousands  of visitors daily. The seven storied Pagoda Twins  located at Chinese  garden, Singapore Flyer , the world largest Jurong Bird park with nearly 5000 birds , Singapore National Museum, Little India and China Town are the other  exotic places- to experience the unforgettable  experience to enjoy the charm of the county.

The  Singapore Botanical Gardens  and Lake side areas also offers  tourist to enjoy the riverside beauty. Apart from that tourist can see, that Singapore is also gifted with some of the world famous educational institutions. The most well-known of all are the National University of Singapore  and the Nanyang  Technological University .These universities had played a pioneering  role in the development of the modern education system in the country. Changi Airport with several terminals is one of the world's leading and busiest Airports.  It  is a major stop over point for over 100international airlines . Singapore Airlines is the flag carrier and the  largest airline of Singapore that operates daily flights from the airport . Convenient Singapore Metro (SMRT) is a modern public transportation system network consisting of many lines with more than 100 stations provides various fast links between the Eastern   and Western parts of Singapore. Film Industry in Singapore  during the past decade , has seen the production of internationally recognized movies and the rise of actors, actresses and writers. Singapore Dreaming  by Woo Yen  Yen and Colin Goh, won the Montblanc New Screenwriters Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in 2006.The people of the Singapore are known for their love for theatre, films, music and dances. This over whelming diversity makes the cultural scene of the country very fascinating. This world famous vibrant country offers the explorer a myriad of opportunities in cultures, festivals and in foods.

 Source  Daily Mirror MONDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2013 (Impulse Page 2 ) 01:16
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Romesh Gunesekera an inspirational veteran author from Asia By Srimal Fernando I thediplomaticsociety.asia

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Romesh Gunesekera an inspirational veteran author from Asia

By Srimal Fernando

Romesh Gunesekera world renowned author and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature has published his most recent book The Prisoner of Paradise in 2012. He was the winner of the inaugural BBC Asia Award, for The Sandglass in 1998. Gunesekera grew up in Sri Lanka and in Philippines and continued to write essays and publish books from a young age. 
Gunesekera now lives in London and is an expert veteran writer who contributes enormously to literature.  His widely acclaimed first novel, Reef, was published in 1994 and was short-listed as a finalist for the Booker Prize.

Todd McEwan on the book review for Glasgow Herald on Gunesekera’s publication “The Prisoner of Paradise” remarked

 “Seriously and movingly, The Prisoner of Paradise contains a very modern message: a plea for the book. It has as much to say about writing as it has about love and colonial misery”

His various works have become very familiar and have won many of the world's top literary prizes, including the prestigious Italian literary prize the Premio Mondello Five Continents Asia Prize for Reef in1997, Winner of Yorkshire Post First Work Prize (Reef) in 1995, the Commonwealth Writer’s Regional Prize for Heaven’s Edge and the New York Times Notable Book of the Year for Monkfish Moon in 2003.

He has attended readings, workshops, several literary events and forums in Europe, America, Africa and Asia. Confluences International Book Fair, Mauritius, Jaipur Literary Festival, India, Lauderdale House, London: Asian Literary Review Poetry Evening, Asia House Literary Festival, London are some of major event that he participated in in recent years . His summer workshop in Greece in 2008 was listed as a top ten activity destination in the Sunday Times.

In addition to his writing he is a distinguished judge for a number of literary prizes including the Caine Prize for African Writing, the David Cohen Literature Prize, the Forward Prize for Poetry and most recently the Granta 2013 list of the Best of Young British Novelists. He has been a Guest Director at the Cheltenham Festival, Associate Tutor at Goldsmiths College and he on the Board of the Arvon Foundation for writing.

Gunesekera is a veteran author with long career and will be a source of inspiration for many young writers.

 Source : http://www.thediplomaticsociety.asia/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=643:romesh-gunesekera-an-inspirational-veteran-author-from-asia&catid=16:home&Itemid=25
 

Singapore: Clean eco friendly commercial centre in Asia By Srimal Fernando I thediplomaticsociety.asia

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Singapore:  Clean eco friendly commercial centre in Asia

By Srimal Fernando

Singapore is the fastest growing wealth center in the world with a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship and is one of Asia's major financial hubs. Over the past several decades, the export-driven economy of the island-state of Singapore is doing wonderfully.  Unlike any other country in the world, Singapore, with 5.1 million people is an outstanding example of 63 islands and is one of the most vibrant and dynamic countries in East Asia. This great nation lives truly up to the title “Singapura” meaning "lion city". Centuries of leverage has shown that the strategic geographic position of Singapore was an important hub for ships sailing between far East, Middle East and the Pacific. Through urban planning, model Singapore has transformed from a city crowded with buildings to a clean eco friendly City in a Garden.

To understand the country it is important to review the history of this fascinating country. The British and Japanese occupation of Singapore saw a new era of political, cultural and religious landscape of Singapore until the country gained Independence on 9th August 1965 from Malaysia. “Majulah Singapura” (Onward Singapore) is the inspirational noteworthy national anthem of the beloved countrymen. Each of the colonial rulers who ruled Singapore left their imprint on the current inhabitants of the country. One of the towering figures of the country was the Singaporean independence campaigner Lee Kuan Yew. Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is known as the father of the nation. The best loved and famous political figure of the country made a great contribution as a representative of the people of Singapore.

The country’s economy remains strong as a result of public- private partnership that played a significant role in the economic stability of the country. Singapore has been the watershed in distribution of welfare and socio –economic development to the people of the country. People of Singapore play a leading role in the engine of prosperity of their country and has been fueled by pragmatism, hard work and a flood of individual enterprises. The Singapore Government implemented economic reforms, beginning in the 60s and took an active role in guiding the nation’s economic development. On the development side, the economic policy of the country was steered towards increasing the production.

Singapore is a strong tourist destination with large number of visitors to the country, climbing to 14.5 million in 2012. In 2010, tourism made a significant gain, experiencing a boom with about 11.6 million high-end foreign visitors coming to discover this beautiful country. The four- terminal Changi Airport is the most important aviation hub in the world.  This airport is a major stopover point for over 100 international airlines with a total annual handling capacity of more than 70 million passengers. The Changi Airport passenger traffic reached an historic 46.5 million passengers in 2011.  The airport serves as a base for Singapore Airlines, the flag carrier of the country and to several other airlines. The country's port is the world’s busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage. In 2011 the amount of cargo handled at the award winning PSA Singapore terminal rose to 29.37 millions TEUs. The well developed manufacturing sector is the cornerstone of economic development providing a platform for job creation and economic growth.

The 150 kilometer convenient Singapore Metro (SMRT) is a modern public transportation system network consisting of many lines with more than 100 stations and provides various fast links between the Eastern and Western parts of Singapore (Estimates 2012).

The Merlion, a mythical creature with the head of a lion and body of a fish used as a mascot is one of the highest-esteemed attractions in the country.

The innovative multi storey Sky Park Marina Bay Sands features three 55-story hotel towers are the greatest engineering achievements that unhesitatingly leap into the future. There is no end to the breathtaking sites visitors can see in Singapore. The Sentosa Island resorts, Universal Studio, Underwater World, Oceanarium, and the seven storied Pagoda Twins located at Chinese garden, Singapore Flyer, Little India and China Town attract thousands of visitors daily.

The Singapore Botanical Gardens and Lake- side area also offers the tourist river-side beauty. Singapore is gifted with world famous educational institutions. The most well-known of all are the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University. These universities played a pioneering role in the development of the modern education system in the city. The last four decades is already showing the results of its trade reforms and other liberalization measures taken. Today the country has transformed into a clean eco- friendly commercial centre in Asia.

Source http://www.thediplomaticsociety.asia/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=642:singapore-clean-eco-friendly-commercial-centre-in-asia&catid=16:home&Itemid=25