Published by Issue 57 December 2019 www.indiplomacy.com SPECIAL ANNUAL YEARBOOK EDITION Featuring Bilateral Highlights of 27 Countries including m FABRICS m FASHIONS m NATIONAL DRESS PLUS: SPECIAL COUNTRY SUPPLEMENT Historic Singapore President’s First State Visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia CONTENTS www.indiplomacy.com PUBLISHER’S NOTE Ringing in 2020 on a Positive Note 2 PUBLISHER Sun Media Pte Ltd EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nomita Dhar YEARBOOK SECTION EDITORIAL Ranee Sahaney, Syed Jaafar Alkaff, Nishka Rao Participating foreign missions share their highlights DESIGN & LAYOUT Syed Jaafar Alkaff, Dilip Kumar, of the year and what their countries are famous for 4 - 56 Roshen Singh PHOTO CONTRIBUTOR Michael Ozaki ADVERTISING & MARKETING Swati Singh PRINTING Times Printers Print Pte Ltd SPECIAL COUNTRY SUPPLEMENT A note about Page 46 PHOTO SOURCES & CONTRIBUTORS Sun Media would like to thank - Ministry of Communications & Information, Singapore. Singapore President’s - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore. - All the foreign missions for use of their photos. Where ever possible we have tried to credit usage Historic First State Visit and individual photographers. to Saudi Arabia PUBLISHING OFFICE Sun Media Pte Ltd, 20 Kramat Lane #01-02 United House, Singapore 228773 Tel: (65) 6735 2972 / 6735 1907 / 6735 2986 Fax: (65) 6735 3114 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.indiplomacy.com MICA (P) 071/08/2019 © Copyright 2020 by Sun Media Pte Ltd. The opinions, pronouncements or views expressed or implied in this publication are those of contributors or authors. They do not necessarily reflect the official stance of the Indonesian authorities nor their agents and representatives. The aim of this publication is to guide and provide general information. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all information contained, the publisher cannot be held liable for loss incurred in any way whatsoever by a company or a person relying on this information. YEAR BOOK COUNTRY LOCATOR ECUADOR MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF Countries EGYPT 26 MONGOLIA l EL SALVADOR MOROCCO Represented in ERITREA MOZAMBIQUE ESTONIA MYANMAR Singapore and ESWATINI NEPAL ETHIOPIA NETHERLANDS Yearbook Country EUROPEAN UNION 28 NEW ZEALAND l FIJI NIGER Contributors Locator 14 FINLAND l 30 NIGERIA l Diplomatic missions that have FRANCE NORTH MACEDONIA,REPUBLIC OF GABON 32 NORWAY l contributed to this issue are GEORGIA PAKISTAN marked in bold and denoted by l GERMANY PANAMA GHANA PAPUA NEW GUINEA GREECE PARAGUAY DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS GUATEMALA 34 PERU l GUINEA 36 PHILIPPINES l Page Country GUINEA-BISSAU 38 POLAND l AFGHANISTAN GUYANA PORTUGAL ALBANIA HOLY SEE QATAR ALGERIA HUNGARY ROMANIA ANGOLA ICELAND 40 RUSSIAN FEDERATION l l 4 ARGENTINA 16 INDIA l RWANDA ARMENIA 18 INDONESIA l SAMOA l 6 AUSTRALIA IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF 42 SAUDI ARABIA l l 8 AUSTRIA IRAQ SENEGAL AZERBAIJAN 20 IRELAND l SERBIA BAHAMAS ISRAEL SEYCHELLES BAHRAIN ITALY SLOVAKIA l 9 BANGLADESH JAMAICA 48 SOUTH AFRICA l BELARUS JAPAN SPAIN l 11 BELGIUM 22 JORDAN l 49 SRI LANKA l BENIN KAZAKHSTAN SUDAN BHUTAN KENYA SURINAME BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA KOREA, DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S SWEDEN BOTSWANA REPUBLIC OF 50 SWITZERLAND l 12 BRAZIL l KOREA, REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA, UNITED REPUBLIC OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM KUWAIT THAILAND BULGARIA KYRGYZSTAN TIMOR-LESTE BURKINA FASO LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC TONGA CAMBODIA REPUBLIC TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO CANADA LATVIA TUNISIA CHILE LESOTHO TURKEY CHINA LIBERIA TURKMENISTAN COLOMBIA LIBYA UGANDA COMOROS LITHUANIA UKRAINE CONGO LUXEMBOURG UNITED ARAB EMIRATES CONGO, THE DEM OCRATIC MADAGASCAR UNITED KINGDOM REPUBLIC OF THE MALAWI 52 UNITED STATES l COSTA RICA 24 MALAYSIA l URUGUAY CÔTE D’IVOIRE MALDIVES 54 UZBEKISTAN l CROATIA MALI 56 VENEZUELA, BOLIVARIAN CUBA MALTA REPUBLIC OF l CZECH REPUBLIC MARSHALL ISLANDS VIETNAM DENMARK MAURITANIA YEMEN DJIBOUTI MAURITIUS ZAMBIA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MEXICO ZIMBABWE CONSULAR POSTS m BARBADOS m BELIZE m BENIN m BOTSWANA m BURKINA FASO m CABO VERDE mSALVADOR m ESTONIA m ETHIOPIA m GEORGIA m GHANA m GUINEA m ICELAND m JAMAICA m KENYA m LEBANON m LITHUANIA m LUXEMBOURG m MADAGAS- CAR m MALI m MALTA m MAURITIUS m MOLDOVA, REPUBLIC OF m MONACO m MOROCCO m MOZAMBIQUE m NEPAL m OMAN m PALAU m SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES m SEYCHELLES m SLOVAKIA m SLOVENIA m SUDAN m TANZANIA, UNITED REPUBLIC OF m TONGA m UGANDA www.indiplomacy.com IN Diplomacy Annual 2019 1 Narratives of Positive Engagement... Dear Friends, It began in January with the first official visit by the Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to Singapore and when he expressed his wish Public Diplomacy and to see the Czech Embassy re-open here; right up to the first ever state National Branding have an visit of Singaporean President Halimah Yacob to the Kingdom of important role to play between Saudi Arabia in November. Her warm reception there is an excellent nations during peace and case in point. At the end of the tour the President spoke highly of the towards it. extremely positive vibes she felt during the meetings and remarked that the leaders looked at Singapore as a role model as the Republic The popular perception of a has been “very successful” in its development efforts despite its small Diplomat as well-read, well- size. IN Diplomacy marked the occassion with a special supplement travelled and well-dressed, the to commemorate the visit in this issue (page 44 to 47). accomplished representative of a country is universal and is, There is no denying the pivotal role that Singapore has played more often than not, certainly in creating a neutral platform for dialogues for even the most Ms Nomita Dhar, Publisher not wrong. But we must also contentious situations — and herein lies its strength. The positive & Editor in Chief add, these men and women results of this incredible balancing act is so richly evident in the of repute, with their small or larger teams, put their best foot forward, number of countries from around the globe who are seeking to widen and have been an excellent link between Singapore and their nations. the scope of their bilateral ties with the island nation. They bring to the table knowledge, access and a mandate to connect. Such an approach is even more important given the far reaching The engagements in culture, business and investments open windows impact of deeply concerning global situations such as trade for people-to-people contacts and improve lives and create livelihoods. imbalance, terrorism, security, politics, the economy, business, inter- This special edition of IN Diplomacy reports initiatives and racial relations and much more. engagements for many of them specifically of those with their resident missions here. Today the world is getting smaller and yet each nation stands out for its own dynamic identity and cultural ethos; now more than ever is it The Diplomatic Community in Singapore has pulled out all the stops imperative to nurture the spirit of understanding and cooperation to to move forward by bringing to the fore its best skills in keeping make this world a better place. dialogues and conversations going on a positive note, while leaning strongly on the cornerstones of its decades-long strong bilateral There are narratives galore of history and heritage, of cultural vivacity relationships. and the people, drawn from each nation, which enrich the tapestry of human engagement —and Singapore has been specially blessed No wonder it’s been a hectic year for the many missions in Singapore to witness this incredible people-to-people connectivity, liberally as deepening of engagement has kicked off on multiple fronts , showcased through many activities initiated all year round by its whether it has been the promotion of cultural diplomacy, tourism, vibrant diplomatic community. trade and investment, on varied platforms. There have been many arrivals and departures in Singapore, of a steady stream of delegations Finally, a note about this year’s theme: Fashion, Fabrics and National and heads of state, to strengthen this growing narrative of constant Dresses. The clothes one wears can tell much about the country one’s engagement to keep the channels of conversations open. from and the messages are always Positive, Inspired and Creative… : 2 IN Diplomacy Annual 2019 www.indiplomacy.com PUBLISHER’S NOTE WOF - A New Chapter for IN Diplomacy We have always thought of Diplomatic Missions as a treasure trove of information on a country’s trade, culture, investment climate and so on; in short, they provide all of us here a window to a world of opportunities. In the last two decades Sun Media’s work and relationship with the diplomatic community here has also placed us in a very unique position to organise probably the first of its kind in Singapore - the World Opportunities Forum (WOF) held in May 2019. It was a meaningful way to also mark our 20th Anniversary in business. In collaboration with several foreign missions with experts on various markets, stakeholders and potential investors they came to listen to presentations and panel discussions by an unprecedented number of 18 ambassadors and high commissioners in Singapore. I have to again thank them for their support and express my The theme offered a thrilling window to another colourful aspect of admiration for their willingness to share a common platform to a nation’s cultural tradition and creative inspirations. For example, promote the opportunities that exist in their respective countries. the Jordanian national dress tells the story of the deep attachment to The WOF created a very efficient and productive day for all who land and is an important part of the history, identity and culture of the attended and the response to our survey for another forum in 2020 Jordanian people (page 22). Then there is the importance of, say Batik, has been tremendous. We have gathered feedback from the early to Indonesian culture which can be gauged by the very fact that the respondents who want to take the next step in linking potential country even has a ‘Batik Day’ to celebrate these centuries old textile investors directly to specific projects.