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MEDIA RELEASE CELEBRATION OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SINGAPORE COOPERATION PROGRAMME AND ALUMNI RECEPTION
13 December 2022
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MEDIA RELEASE
CELEBRATION OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
SINGAPORE COOPERATION PROGRAMME AND ALUMNI RECEPTION
THURSDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2022, 1800 HOURS
VIETNAM-SINGAPORE COOPERATION CENTRE
The Embassy of the Republic of Singapore in Hanoi held a reception at the Vietnam-Singapore Cooperation Centre to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP), Singapore’s flagship platform for technical cooperation with developing countries through human resource development and capacity building.
In his remarks, Singapore Ambassador to Vietnam, Jaya Ratnam identified longstanding partnership in human resource development as a recurring theme in Singapore’s and Vietnam’s excellent bilateral ties. Over the last 30 years and through a wide range of programme designed for officials from across the spectrum, the SCP has provided training to almost 21,000 Vietnamese officials. Ambassador highlighted that the presence of high-level officials from the various Ministries and government agencies, many of whom are alumni of the SCP, strongly indicates the importance Vietnam places on this aspect of our bilateral cooperation and reflects our common belief that human resource development is key to a country's sustainable development and progress.
Ambassador shared how Singapore’s technical assistance programmes for Vietnam continued to run during the past two years during the COVID pandemic. Singapore was an early adopter of virtual online learning via videoconferencing for courses that are held from Singapore as well as in the upgraded Vietnam-Singapore Cooperation Centre (VSCC) in 2020. By conducting online courses, we were able to reach out to a wider pool of officials from the Northern, Southern and Central provinces. In total, we were able to organise and conduct up to 36 online courses for over 600 Vietnam officials in 2020 and 2021 through the SCP and IAI programmes. Since COVID travel restrictions were lifted between Singapore and Vietnam early this year, we have been able to resume physical in-person courses. Vietnamese officials have been able to travel to Singapore to attend the various SCP courses and programmes, while trainers from Singapore were able to travel to Hanoi to conduct in-person courses at the VSCC since August 2022. The VSCC is on track to complete 15 online courses and 10 in-person courses for more than 500 officials in 2022.
As Singapore looks forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of our bilateral relations and 10th year of Strategic Partnership next year, we remain committed to continue supporting Vietnam in the development of its human resource capabilities and technical capacity. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the SCP, the Sustainability Action Package (SAP) was launched by Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, in Singapore on 25 October 2022. The SAP is one of Singapore’s initiatives which aims to support the capacity-building needs of developing countries on sustainability and climate change. Background information on the SCP and VSCC and a transcript of Ambassador Jaya Ratnam’s remarks are attached.
Officials from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Commission for External Relations of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Commission for Management of State Capital at Enterprises, Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association and many other prominent SCP alumni from various Vietnamese government Ministries and agencies also attended the event.
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SINGAPORE EMBASSY IN HANOI
8 DECEMBER 2022
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ANNEX A
INFOSHEET ON
SINGAPORE COOPERATION PROGRAMME AND
SUSTAINABILITY ACTION PACKAGE
Established in 1992, the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) is Singapore’s flagship platform for extending technical assistance to fellow developing countries.
2 The SCP was founded on the belief that human resource development is key to nation-building. It focuses on capacity-building while encouraging developing countries to share their development experiences and learn from one another.
3 The SCP has hosted close to 150,000 officials from more than 180 countries and territories as well as international and regional organisations. SCP works with more than 50 local and international partners to conduct over 300 programmes yearly. Since 2015, all SCP programmes are aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which serve as a useful road map for countries in their development journey.
4 To mark the SCP’s 30th anniversary, Ambassador Jaya Ratnam announced that Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan launched the Sustainability Action Package (SAP) on 25 October 2022. The SAP aims to support the capacity-building needs of developing countries on sustainability and climate change. It builds on the Climate Action Package (CAP) and will have a broader focus on sustainability. The CAP was established in 2018 and will conclude in March 2023.
5 The SAP, which will run for three years (2023 – 2026), comprises capacity-building programmes that cover a wide range of sustainability themes such as adaptation and resilience-building strategies, green project management and financing, low carbon development and carbon markets. The programmes will bring together diverse knowledge partners from the public and private sectors, and non-profit and international organisations to share best practices on tackling sustainability and climate issues.
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ANNEX B
INFOSHEET ON
VIETNAM-SINGAPORE COOPERATION CENTRE
In November 2000, then-Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong launched the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (or IAI) framework with the aim of helping to integrate the then newer ASEAN member states of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. The MOU on the Establishment of the Vietnam–Singapore Training Centre (VSTC) was signed between Singapore and Vietnam on 28 November 2001, under the auspices of the IAI framework. The Vietnam-Singapore Training Centre was subsequently opened in Hanoi and the first course on “Practical English” was conducted in March 2002.
2 On 2 August 2018, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the enhancement of the IAI Training Centres into Singapore Cooperation Centres (SCCs) at the 51st ASEAN Foreign Minister’s Meeting (AMM). Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister and then-Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh signed a 2nd MOU on the Establishment to Operate the Vietnam–Singapore Cooperation Centre (VSCC) during the latter’s official visit to Singapore from 30 to 31 July 2018.
3 With the upgrading of the rebranded VSCC at a cost of approximately US$160,000, the facility marks the next phase of Singapore’s partnership with Vietnam and was officially launched by then-Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean and Vietnam Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh on 23 March 2019.
4 The VSCC serves as a single platform for Singapore entities from both the public and private sector to collaborate and deliver targeted technical assistance to Vietnam. Over and above existing IAI classroom training, new modalities of capacity building have been included, including consultancy, humanitarian and volunteer projects. The aim is to increase the effectiveness and impact of Singapore’s assistance to Vietnam through a consolidation and rebranding of assistance under the VSCC.
5 The VSCC had a double celebration of its 20th anniversary of the MOU signing on the Establishment to Operate the VSTC and the 20,000th SCP participant from Vietnam on 16 November 2021.
6 Since 2019, the VSCC conducts between 20 and 25 courses and trains about 500 Vietnamese government officials annually. Arising from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the VSCC has adapted and been upgraded with video-conferencing equipment to facilitate online courses. Our participants had to adapt to e-learning using online videoconferencing platforms and learning management systems over these past three years. Nonetheless, the enrolment numbers for our courses remain high, and the online platforms have allowed us to engage more officials from a wider-range of cities and provinces.
7 In total, the VSCC conducted courses for over 600 Vietnamese officials in 2020 and 2021. Since COVID restrictions have been lifted in Vietnam this year, the VSCC has pivoted back to in-person courses since August and on track to conduct 15 online courses and 10 in-person courses to train more than 500 officials in 2022.
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ANNEX C
SPEECH BY AMBASSADOR JAYA RATNAM
ON THE OCCASION OF THE
30TH ANNIVERSARY OF SINGAPORE COOPERATION PROGRAMME AND ALUMNI RECEPTION,
8 DECEMBER 2022,
VIETNAM-SINGAPORE COOPERATION CENTRE
Distinguished alumni of the Singapore Cooperation Programme,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Xin Chao and a very good evening to all of you. It gives me great pleasure to warmly welcome you to our Vietnam-Singapore Cooperation Centre as we mark the 30th Anniversary of the Singapore Cooperation Programme or SCP. Thank you all for taking the time from your busy schedules to join us this evening to celebrate this significant milestone with us. We are very honoured to have the presence of so many of you, our distinguished alumni of the SCP, including our Guest of Honour from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Her Excellency Ms Le Thi Thu Hang, who attended one of the SCP’s Executive Education programmes. I am also glad that Former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Nguyen Van Nganh, who signed the first MOU to establish our VSTC in 2001, has joined us today and I am honoured by your presence Excellency.
2 The SCP has come a long way since its establishment in 1992. As the primary platform for the various technical assistance programmes provided by Singapore, the SCP aims to share Singapore’s development experience with other developing countries through human resource development and capacity building. The SCP is Singapore’s way of giving back or to pay it forward to the international community for the assistance that we received from other countries in our early years following our independence. Over the last three decades, close to 150,000 foreign officials from 180 countries, territories and intergovernmental organisations, have participated in a variety of SCP courses. Through the SCP, we have forged many friendships across the world and in our own small way, contributed as a responsible and constructive member of the international community.
3 Technical cooperation, as provided for under the SCP, remains a key pillar of Singapore-Vietnam relations. This is provided through a wide range of programmes for a broad spectrum of officials. SCP Training Awards and Third Country Training Programmes offered in Singapore to all developing countries and IAI courses where trainers from Singapore fly up to conduct workshops here at the VSCC form the bulk of the training provided to Vietnamese officials.
4 However, we also organise bilateral programmes that are unique to Vietnam such as the bi-annual Study Visits by senior cadres from the Communist Party of Vietnam. The SCP also provides Executive Education programmes for senior officials like the Leaders in Governance, Senior Fellows in Public Service and Women in Leadership programmes that are run annually. While discontinued, the SCP also provided for post-graduate scholarships for Masters programmes at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy as well as our undergraduate degrees at NUS, NTU and SMU under the Singapore Scholarship Programme. Taken as a whole, Vietnam is the single largest recipient of SCP programmes. Almost 21,000 Vietnamese officials being trained under the SCP, constituting 14 percent of all SCP participants.
5 I am pleased to share that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, our technical assistance programmes for Vietnam continued to run. We were an early adopter of virtual online learning via videoconferencing for courses that are held from Singapore as well as in this upgraded Vietnam-Singapore Cooperation Centre (VSCC) in 2020. One silver lining to conducting online courses was that we were able to reach out to more officials who could log in remotely from wherever they were, from the Northern, Southern and Central provinces outside of Hanoi, to attend the online lessons being conducted by our trainers from Singapore. In total, we were able to organise and conduct up to 36 online courses for over 600 Vietnam officials in 2020 and 2021 through the SCP and IAI programmes.
6 Since the lifting of COVID travel restrictions between our two countries early this year, we have been able to revert to having Vietnamese officials travel to Singapore to attend the SCP courses and programmes and for our trainers to travel to Hanoi to conduct in-person courses at the VSCC since August. However, we will continue to conduct some courses online, creating a new SCP platform going forward. The VSCC is now on track to complete 15 online courses and 10 in-person courses for more than 500 officials in 2022.
7 As we look forward to celebrating our 50th anniversary of our bilateral relations and 10th year of Strategic Partnership next year, Singapore remains committed to continue helping Vietnam develop its human resource capabilities and technical capacity.
8 In this regard, I am pleased to announce that one of the initiatives launched by my Foreign Minister, on the occasion of the SCP’s 30th anniversary was the Sustainability Action Package, or SAP. The SAP aims to support capacity building for developing countries, with an emphasis on sustainability and climate change. The package, which will run for three years from 2023 to 2026), will comprise two elements. The first will provide capacity-building programmes covering a wide range of sustainability themes such as adaptation and resilience-building strategies, green project management and financing, low carbon development and carbon markets. The programmes will bring together diverse knowledge partners from the public and private sectors, and non-profit and international organisations to share best practices on tackling sustainability and climate issues. The second element will involve the sponsorship of longer-term advisory projects in Southeast Asia to deepen the region’s capabilities in sustainability. Singapore looks forward to working with you through the SAP over these next few years, particularly in light of Vietnam’s commitment to achieving nett zero emissions by 2050 and goals of reaching the next stage of development in a sustainable manner.
9 Please allow me, at this juncture, to acknowledge the contributions and excellent partnership of the people who have worked with my staff and were instrumental in organising to make the various SCP programmes possible and a success all these decades. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to:
10 First and foremost, the Foreign Economic Relations Department of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, who as the National Focal Point for Vietnam is extremely crucial in coordinating the nomination process for the different SCP Training Awards and Third Country Training Programme courses that are held and conducted in Singapore;
11 And to the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Dr Pham Lan Dung and her staff for their invaluable support in coordinating with Vietnam ministries and agencies to nominate participants for our IAI courses, and their useful inputs in identifying key training areas and reviewing the effectiveness of our IAI programmes, to customise courses, programmes and projects which are aligned with and supports Vietnam’s evolving needs and rising aspirations.
12 As SCP alumni, we view you as lifelong friends of Singapore.
13 Beyond the facts and figures I have shared, what is most encouraging for me is hearing from many of you about how our SCP courses/programmes benefited you personally and the many friendships and memories that you formed about Singapore. It warms my heart that many of you proudly shared with me your fond memories and personal anecdotes of your time attending SCP programmes. In my mind, these are just as, or even more, important than the content you obtained from the courses. To me, there is no better testament to how our programmes have been able to assist the government of Vietnam, and we hope to continue building on this in the years to come.
14 This evening is an occasion to celebrate, to renew friendships, and a reminder to all of us that by paying it forward and working collectively together, we can make a difference. I hope you enjoy our reception tonight and I take this opportunity to wish you all happiness, good health and success in the New Year ahead for 2023! Thank you all very much for joining us once again.
Xin Cam On.
8 December 2022
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