The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) welcomed 18 officials from ASEAN who participated in the "Checkpoint Competencies in People Clearance" course held in Singapore from 2 March to 8 March 2010. The 5-day course was sponsored by MFA under the ASEAN Training Award (ATA).

Experts from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore, imparted knowledge and skills in performing passengers' clearance at border checkpoints and in forgery detection skills. Participants also visited the Woodlands Command to get a first-hand experience of the passenger clearance methods adopted at one of the world's busiest land checkpoints.

The sense of camaraderie of the group grew stronger by the day, even as they applied themselves seriously to the lectures and discussion groups. One participant, Ms Nguyen Thi Binh Phuong, Deputy Head of the Immigration Inspection Team from Hanoi, Viet Nam, commented that she had picked up useful information relevant to her course of work and would share it with the immigration officers back home.

Singapore recently welcomed 24 participants from 9 ASEAN countries for the second run of the "International Trade Capacity Building Seminar", which was held from 22 to 26 February 2010. The 5 -day seminar was co-organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore and ADETEF, the French agency for international cooperation in economic and financial assistance (Assistance au Développement des Échanges en Technologies Économiques et Financiers), under the auspices of the Singapore-France Third Country Training Programme.

The seminar presented participants with the opportunity to gain a better understanding of trade policy matters and multilateral trading systems. It also sought to develop knowledge of the principles, process and techniques of economic negotiations. Participants were able to benefit from the knowledge of four experienced trainers from France and Singapore, namely Mr Paul-Henri Ravier, the former Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mr Jean Marc Mignon, Deputy Permanent Representative of France to WTO, Mr Yannick Richet, senior advisor in ADETEF and Ms Margaret Liang, Consultant on WTO and Trade Issues to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore.

In her opening speech, Mrs Belinda Tay, Deputy Director, Technical Cooperation Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore, noted that "Our partnership with France is one of our most successful collaborations with development partners". The French Ambassador to Singapore His Excellency Olivier Caron reiterated the good cooperation between Singapore and France. He also highlighted some interesting parts of the programme, namely the learning journey to Jurong Island and the practical training on negotiating trade issues.

Since its formal launch in 1992, the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SPC) has reached out to more than 56,000 government officials from 169 countries. The SCP has rendered technical assistance by providing training and sharing Singapore's experiences and expertise to developing nations. The SCP has since received numerous recognitions and compliments from our participants.

"I returned to work today and there's so much that I want to share with my colleagues. It has been a great experience."

Claudine Roberts,
Dominica

"It is refreshing when one can experience such efficiency and what was exchanged during the interaction with staff at ISS and the Singapore Government. The period Jan 13 - 31 2008 will always return extremely pleasant memories."

Margaret Leon,
Ministry of Finance,
Barbados

"I have benefited tremendously from the 3 month course and am now able to understand and converse in English more confidently due to exposure and the opportunities to speak and interact with other course participants from the various ASEAN countries. It was also an opportunity for us to get to know one another on a personal level our country and culture."

Nguyen Thi Hien
Vietnam

"I would like to thank all of you at the MFA and CSCI for your warm welcome and helpful support to us. It was a great opportunity to be able to undergo such a well-organised training course. I have acquired valuable knowledge, experience and have already started to apply them."

Cetin Oktay Kaldirim,
Deputy Governor,
Turkey

"I have been impacted personally by the friendships formed during our course in Singapore and I hope we can keep in contact."

David L. Shields,
Deputy Director of Tourism - Marketing
Jamaica Tourist Board

"All the learning I had will surely go a long way in our country, for I have decided to adopt insights gained to contribute to the improvement of our educational system, even in my own little way. Thank You SCP!"

Eugenia R. Gorgon,
Philippines

"We have learnt so much during the symposium and return filled with ideas and concepts which we will consider seriously with view to implement. You have given us the opportunity not merely to listen but also to see and experience for ourselves the progress and advancements made in the administration of justice and the development of the rule of law across the justice sector in Singapore. It has been an impressive achievement and I congratulate you for the innovative but humane approach Singapore has taken in the administration of justice. You have provided us with much food for thought."

Sir Albert R. Palmer CBE,
Chief Justice,
Solomon Islands

Singapore is committed to doing our part as a responsible global citizen, by assisting developing countries in human resource capacity building to achieve sustainable development and at the same time forge valuable friendships and partnerships. This is reflected in our SCP motto - "Joining Hands, Making Friends".