Singapore is the first Southeast Asian country to work with the European Commission (EC) on a technical assistance programme for developing countries. The agreement between Singapore and the EC covers technical assistance to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Since the establishment of the Trilateral Cooperation Programme in 2004, a total of 114 officials have been trained in areas such as finance, trade promotion, WTO matters and information technology.

Singapore and France have been cooperating on providing training to third countries since 2001. The cooperation was formalised through a Letter of Intent signed by both countries in March 2007. To date, eight joint programmes have been conducted for 136 officials from ASEAN countries in areas such as public finance management, tax policy and the prevention and management of contagious diseases.

Established in 1993 with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), the Singapore – Germany Third Country Training Programme has provided 26 courses for 370 participants from the Asia-Pacific region. The courses cover areas such as the management of technical and vocational training institutions, multimedia development, manufacturing and automation, information technology and enterprise management. The cooperation has been strengthened by the enhanced Memorandum of Understanding signed by both countries in December 2007.

Singapore and Hungary have agreed in 2007 to organise training programmes in selected fields for countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Under the auspices of the Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED), Singapore and Jordan jointly established the AMED Regional Vocational Training Centre (RVTC), located at the Technical Training Institute (TTI), Amman, Jordan. The RVTC conducts vocational training courses, focusing on developing skills in air-conditioning and heating systems maintenance and diagnostics for the construction industry, for participants from the AMED member countries. The inaugural course was held in October 2007.

The Memorandum of Understanding for the Singapore – Republic of Korea Third Country Training Programme was signed in 1993. Singapore and Korea (administered by the Korea International Cooperation Agency or KOICA) have jointly conducted 52 courses for 850 participants from the Asia-Pacific region. The training courses cover areas such as tourism, trade, information technology, environment, port management and the protection of intellectual property.

Joint Training with New Zealand was launched in 2003 under the framework of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). Singapore and New Zealand (administered by the New Zealand Agency for International Development or NZAID) have conducted a series of four training courses on various aspects of WTO Accession at the IAI Training Centres in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Launched in 1996, the Singapore - Norway Third Country Training Programme has provided 15 training activities for 287 participants from 14 countries. Administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Singapore, two courses are conducted each year in areas such as environmental management, utility management, information technology, English language and healthcare.

Under the auspices of the Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED), Singapore and Qatar set up the AMED Regional Training Centre
for Public Administration (RTCPA) in the Institute of Administrative Development of Qatar (IAD) in Doha, Qatar. Both countries signed a Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in November 2006 to formalise the cooperation in jointly hosting relevant courses at the RTCPA. The focus is on the training officials in developing skills and strategies for excellence in key areas like public administration, trade promotion, urban planning, environmental management and information and communications technology. Since 2006, Singapore and Qatar have successfully conducted four courses at the RTCPA.

Thailand and Singapore have been cooperating to provide technical assistance under the Thailand - Singapore Third Country Training Programme since 1997. This was Singapore’s first formalised partnership with a fellow ASEAN country in extending technical assistance to developing countries namely, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Singapore and Thailand (administered by the Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency or TICA) have jointly trained participants in the areas of healthcare, English language, information technology and public administration.

Singapore and the Holy See began cooperation in 1996 on a pilot project to provide English language training to third countries. Following the success of the project, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 1998 to provide human resource training to countries in the Asia-Pacific region. To date, Singapore and the Holy See (administered by the Apostolic Nunciature based in Bangkok) have jointly sponsored 14 training courses for 168 participants from Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Singapore and The Asia Foundation jointly sponsored a training programme in 2008. This pilot collaboration will be followed by more areas of cooperation in providing human resource development assistance to countries in Asia.

Singapore and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have been conducting joint training courses since 1991 for developing countries under the Singapore – ADB Technical Cooperation Programme. 21 joint training courses have been conducted for over 515 participants in the areas of tourism, road safety management, port/airport management, water and solid waste management, technology transfer, border management and trade facilitation.

We have been providing technical assistance to member countries under the Singapore-Colombo Plan (CP) Training Award Scheme since 1961. Our collaboration with the CP Secretariat was formalised in November 1996. We have jointly provided training courses for senior government officials of CP member countries in public administration and economic development. More than 400 participants from 20 countries have participated in the programmes.

Singapore has been collaborating with the Commonwealth Of Learning (COL) since 2000 under the Third Country Training Programme framework, focusing on one training visit per year for five consecutive years for Chief Executive Officers of training institutes from Commonwealth African countries. We have jointly conducted eight Management Development Workshops for over 190 participants from the Commonwealth countries.

Singapore and the Commonwealth Secretariat signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 1994 to conduct joint courses under the Third Country Training Programme for Commonwealth countries. About 11 joint courses are conducted each year in areas covering economic development, information technology, productivity management, public administration and trade promotion. We have jointly trained more than 2,600 participants from 62 Commonwealth countries and British overseas territories.

Singapore and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) have been conducting joint training programmes for developing countries since 2001. We have jointly conducted 11 courses in human resource development for more than 190 government officials.

Singapore concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 22 March 2000 to jointly train participants from IAEA member states in the areas of health, radiation protection and environment. We have conducted more than 80 joint programmes for over 110 officials from IAEA member countries. These programmes are largely fellowship attachments and visits to Singapore hospitals and universities.

In August 2001, Singapore concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to promote the safety and development of civil aviation through human resource development. The MOU has since been renewed twice, in January 2004 and in December 2006. More than 220 fellowships have been awarded to 65 ICAO contracting states to attend specialised training programmes at the Singapore Aviation Academy.

Singapore and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) signed a Third Country Training Programme Memorandum of Understanding on 1 September 1998 to provide technical assistance to member countries on matters relating to maritime safety and prevention and control of marine pollution. To date we have conducted 20 training programmes for over 360 participants.

Singapore and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 22 September 1997 on the establishment of the IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute (IMF-STI) in Singapore. The IMF-STI provides training for government officials from the Asia-Pacific region in the areas of macroeconomic and financial management and related subjects. Since 1998, IMF-STI has conducted 200 programmes for more than 5,800 officials from the Asia-Pacific region.

Singapore and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have provided joint training programmes under our Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) framework established in 1991. The Singapore – UNICEF TCTP has provided nine joint courses on Early Childhood Education to 211 participants from 19 countries. Singapore and UNICEF will expand their cooperation to help Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam in human resource development and capacity building.

Singapore’s collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) began in 1992 under the framework of the Singapore – UNDP Third Country Training Programme. Since 1992, more than 1,200 government officials from 86 countries, including countries from the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa, have participated in the joint training programmes, in areas such as civil aviation management and environmental health.

Singapore – U.S. Vietnam Trade Council (USVTC) started joint training collaboration in 2003 focusing on trade, tariff and WTO accession. To date, more than 30 Vietnamese officials from various ministries and departments have attended the workshops.

Singapore’s collaboration with the World Bank began in 1996 when both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a Third Country Training Programme. The joint programme allows Singapore and the World Bank to pool resources and share expertise with developing countries in areas such as environmental management, finance and banking, urban development, information technology, hospital reform and education. Singapore and the World Bank have jointly conducted 23 courses for more than 700 officials. In December 2006, Singapore and the World Bank (Africa Region) signed a MOU to conduct collaborative activities for countries in the Africa region.

Singapore and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 1997 to conduct joint training courses for developing countries. The courses are aimed at enhancing their capacity to implement and develop international Intellectual Property standards. Singapore and WIPO renewed their partnership in 2006 to expand collaborative activities. To date, Singapore and WIPO have jointly trained more than 240 officials from 24 countries in the Asia- Pacific region.

Singapore’s collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) began in 2002 with the launch of the Regional Quality Management Training (QMT) course in Blood Transfusion Services. Since then, Singapore has continued its collaboration with WHO on the Management of National Blood Programmes. We have trained more than 90 health officials from various countries.

In 1996, Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to provide joint trade-related courses to developing countries. Since then, we have jointly organised 14 workshops and seminars for more than 270 government officials from WTO member countries.