• Trick is to actualise investor interest from Singapore, says visiting Foreign Minister 
• Sri Lanka to send public officials, judges and politicians to Singapore for training

The visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Law of Singapore, K. Shanmugam yesterday paid a courtesy call on President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat - Pic by Sudath Silva 

By Dharisha Bastians Singaporean Foreign Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam wrapped up a visit to Colombo yesterday, pledging to encourage companies in his country to invest in Sri Lanka and offering training for Sri Lankan public officials, politicians and judges in key priority areas including finance and dealing with corruption. Speaking to select journalists in Colombo soon after a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena, Shanmugam said Sri Lanka’s investment potential is very high, especially post-war. “Singapore is Sri Lanka’s third largest investor, small as we are,” Minister Shanmugam told reporters at Cinnamon Grand. The Foreign Minister said there was a high level of investor interest from Singapore. “The trick is always to actualise that interest, realise that interest. There are a number of areas that can be looked at - tourism, hospitality, logistics, housing,” Shanmugam said. He observed that Singaporean companies would make their own assessments based on macroeconomics and market potential. “But we will encourage them,” he promised. As a small country in a region which is growing strongly, the Singaporean Minister said Sri Lanka was “plugged in” to the economic growth of the region. “As your Prime Minister himself mentioned we are a key node in ASEAN. Singapore is effectively the regional financial centre. The Prime Minister is of the view that Sri Lanka and Singapore can work with each other for mutual benefit,” he said. He said that the two countries, which are part of a fast-growing region, boasted good geographic locations, human resource potential and other resources and these were all facts. “The fact of course doesn’t automatically mean that the vision can be realised. We have to work at it. We have to work closely as we have in the past to see what can be done,” the Minister said. Minister Shanmugam said that he and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera had already identified four or five areas where public sector leaders, judges and other officials could go to Singapore to share experience. “We focus a lot on capacity building. If you look at Singapore, we are known for urban management, we are known for governance and a very low tolerance on corruption,” he asserted. Among South Asian countries, Sri Lanka has sent the largest number of officials - 2000 - to Singapore for training. Capacity building for corruption - a priority for the new unity Government - was not specifically discussed, the visiting Minister said. But he said that senior civil servants and political officials from different countries arrive for training in Singapore, to look at, among other things, the model and structure of how to deal with corruption. “We are open to sharing it. It is not a rocket science secret. If a specific request is made, we will share what we know,” he explained. In true Asian fashion, the Singaporean Minister explained that his country was not keen to ‘teach’ anything, but only to share experiences. “They could see the paths we have taken, avoid some of the mistakes we have made and maybe apply some of the things that have worked for us, adapted of course to local conditions. Minister Shanmugam also met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran for breakfast last morning.

Singapore continues to support Sri Lanka, commends new Government’s programs   Singapore yesterday commended the programs of Sri Lanka’s new Government and promised to support the island nation at international forums. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Law of Singapore, K. Shanmugam commended the programs initiated by the new Government when he called on President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday. Shanmugam said that policies of the new Government would help to further strengthen the relationship between both countries. He also praised the new Government’s efforts for development and reconciliation in the northern and eastern provinces, the Presidential Secretariat said. President Sirisena said Sri Lanka, as a middle-income country, is keen to study the success story of Singapore and take lessons from that country to speed up development in Sri Lanka. He asked the visiting Minister to encourage Singaporean industrialists to invest in Sri Lanka. The President thanked Singapore for support given for an English teacher training program in the northern and eastern provinces and technical training projects in different parts of the country. He recalled the success, in collaboration with the health sector, and cited the example of the agreement between the eye banks of the two countries that helped many blind people to regain their sight. Praising the efforts for reconciliation, Shanmugam said that it would strengthen stability in the country and Singapore entrepreneurs are very much interested in investing in a stable developing nation like Sri Lanka. He reaffirmed Singapore’s interest to continue and further expand the robust bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka. The minister noted that there was immense potential for further expanding bilateral cooperation and enlisting Singapore’s investment in thrust areas such as urban planning, warehousing, low-cost housing, public management and capacity building, among others. President Sirisena said that one of the most valued books in his library was the biography of Lee Kuan Yew and wished the former Premier a speedy recovery and a long life. The visiting Minister, on behalf of the Singapore Government, invited the Sri Lankan President to visit Singapore soon. Shanmugam, who is on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka from 23 to 24 February, met his Sri Lankan counterpart Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Monday. Minister Shanmugam’s visit marked the first high-level interaction of the Singapore Government with the new Sri Lankan Government, since it assumed office last month.