The Little Red Dot

Reflections of Foreign Ambassadors on SingaporeVolume III

Tommy Koh, Li Lin Chang

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9789814612821
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Diplomacy & Treaties
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The first two volumes of The Little Red Dot series covered a wide range of views about Singapore's diplomacy by Singaporean diplomats. This new addition to the series offers a complementary perspective of Singapore and its bilateral relations, through the eyes of past heads of missions from foreign countries who have served as ambassadors to Singapore. The reader will be able to glean insights from the foreign diplomats who took an active role in getting to know Singapore, and at the same time, also worked hard to promote their respective countries' interests. As seen from their perspectives, the reader can learn more about what was unique about Singapore, what they learnt and what made their postings to Singapore memorable. These candid reflections will allow Singaporean readers to understand how different elements of our country are often seen as a whole, and how that in turn contributes to the impressions that our foreign friends have of Singapore. Often cited by the contributors are the success of Singapore's economic development, our cohesive multi-cultural and multi-religious society, our good governance, our education system and opportunities for the young. These aspects that are highlighted, among others, are what makes Singapore unique and they are also important to Singapore's future. There were, of course, some critical comments on some aspects of our culture and political arrangements. We should evaluate them with an open mind, always willing to learn from our friends.

Contents:

• Australia:
  • Memories of Singapore (Ted Delofski)
• Bangladesh:
  • My Experience as High Commissioner in Singapore (Kamrul Ahsan)
• Belgium:
  • How do I See Singapore Fifteen Years after Serving as Ambassador of Belgium (Patrick Van Haute)
• Brunei:
  • The Singapore Experience (Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yunos bin Haji Mohd Hussein)
• Cambodia:
  • Singapore–Cambodia: A Growing Partnership (Roland Eng)
• Canada:
  • The Resilience of a Nation (Doreen Steidle)
• Chile:
  • Memories of Singapore (Juan Martabit)
• China:
  • Lasting Impressions of Singapore (Yang Wenchang)
  • A Country Always on the Move (Chen Baoliu)
• Costa Rica:
  • Singapore, How to Fly High and Straight (Juan F Cordero A)
• Denmark:
  • Singapore, A Posting that became a Home (Joergen Oerstroem Moeller)
• Egypt:
  • The Miracle Known as Singapore (Mohamed Abdel Rehim El-Zorkany)
• European Union:
  • Geography and Destiny (Holger Standertskjöld)
• Finland:
  • Singapore on My Mind... (Satu Mattila)
• France:
  • Some of My Best Years as Ambassador (Bernard de Montferrand)
• Germany:
  • My Impressions of Singapore (Volker Schlegel)
  • The Singapore Experience — Love at Second Sight (Folkmar Stoecker)
  • Singapore and Globalisation: Benchmarks Set (Jörg Ranau)
• India:
  • My Days in Singapore — Looking East and Loving It (Prabhat Prakash Shukla)
  • Singapore (T C A Raghavan)
• Indonesia:
  • My Assignment in Singapore (Soedibyo Rahardjo)
• Israel:
  • My Life in Singapore — Reminiscences (Amira Arnon)
• Japan:
  • Building Foundations for Japan and Singapore Relations (Hiroshi Hashimoto)
  • My Experience as Ambassador of Japan to Singapore (Takaaki Kojima)
  • Singapore, What Kind of a Little Red Dot? (Yoichi Suzuki)
• Kazakhstan:
  • In Celebration of a Kazakhstan–Singapore Partnership (Nurlan Yermekbayev)
• Kuwait:
  • Thoughts, Reflections, and Experiences of the Little Red Dot (Abdulaziz Ahmed Aladwani)
• Laos:
  • My Career in the Lao Foreign Affairs Ministry (Thouane Vorasarn)
• Malaysia:
  • Sustaining Malaysia–Singapore Relations — People of Goodwill on Both Sides (Dato' N Parameswaran)
• Mexico:
  • The Best for Singapore is Yet to Be (Eduardo Ramos-Gómez)
• Myanmar:
  • Brand Name Singapore (U Hla Thann)
• New Zealand:
  • Recollections of a Singapore Posting (Timothy Hannah)
• Pakistan:
  • Manicured and Choreographed: The Story of Effervescent Singapore (Sajjad Ashraf)
• The Philippines:
  • My Easiest Diplomatic Posting (Alberto A Encomienda)
  • Reflections (Minda Calaguian-Cruz)
• Poland:
  • Singapore Matters, Indeed! (Boguslaw Marcin Majewski)
  • Chopin, Football and Diplomacy (Waldemar Dubaniowski)
• Russia:
  • What Does Singapore Mean to Me?: Memories of a Former Student of the Nanyang University who then became a Russian Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore (Mikhail M Bely)
• Saudi Arabia:
  • From Riyadh to Singapore (Mohamad Amin Kurdi)
• South Africa:
  • Singapore — From "Red Dot" to "Shining Star" (Stefanus Johannes Schoeman)
• South Korea:
  • Singapore as a Little Giant (Park Sang-seek)
  • My Reflections on Singapore (Ryu Kwang-sok)
• Sri Lanka:
  • Reflections on Singapore: Three Years and Five Months on the Little Red Dot (Shehan Ratnavale)
• Sweden:
  • The Increasingly Important Role of Diplomats in Trade and Investment Promotion — Swedish Experiences in Singapore (Pär Ahlberger)
• Switzerland:
  • The Rewarding Years in Singapore (Kurt Otto Wyss)
  • Singapore and Switzerland — From Inspiration to Inspiration (Raymond Loretan)
  • Singapore — In Search of the Body and the Soul (Daniel Woker)
  • Deep Mutual Respect: Policies and Personalities Make a Difference (Jörg Alois Reding)
• Thailand:
  • Singapore: An Enriching Experience Professionally and Personally (Somkiati Ariyapruchya)
• Timor-Leste:
  • Fostering Everlasting Friendship and Relations Between Timor-Leste and Singapore (Roberto Soares)
• Turkey:
  • Turkey and Singapore — A Long and Good Relationship (Ahmet Bülent Meriç)
• Ukraine:
  • Singapore — A Special Place in My Heart (Olexander Horin)
• United Kingdom:
  • Two Singapores, Twenty-Five Years Apart (Michael Pike)
  • Singapore at the Turn of the Century: A Personal View (Alan Hunt)
  • Raffles' Legacy — Where East Meets West (Paul Madden)
• United States of America:
  • A Remarkable Red Dot: An American View (J Stapleton Roy)
  • Building US–Singapore Ties through Trade and Investment (Steven Jay Green)
  • Singapore Diplomacy — A View from the Other Side (Frank Lavin)
  • A Multi-Faceted Career (Patricia Herbold)
• Vietnam:
  • Singapore Island State — Asia's "European" Metropolis (Nguyen Duc Hung)
  • Building a New Singapore–Vietnam Partnership (Duong Van Quang)

Readership: General readers interested in Singapore and Southeast Asian affairs, diplomacy. Civil servants. Students of international relations, political science. Universities, polytechnics, junior colleges and secondary schools.
Key Features:

• Collection of essays by past heads of missions from foreign countries, based in Singapore, reflecting on their impressions, experiences, and lessons learned from their postings
• A complementary perspective of Singapore and its bilateral relations to the earlier Little Red Dot volumes which contained reflections of Singaporean diplomats
• A comprehensive annex of a list of countries with which Singapore has diplomatic relations

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Foreword
• Content
• Introdution
• 1. Memories of Singapore
• 2. My Experience as High Commissioner in Singapore
• 3. How do I See Singapore Fifteen Years after Serving as Ambassador of Belgium
• 4. The Singapore Experience
• 5. Singapore–Cambodia: A Growing Partnership
• 6. The Resilience of a Nation
• 7. Memories of Singapore
• 8. Lasting Impressions of Singapore
• 9. A Country Always on the Move
• 10. Singapore, How to Fly High and Straight
• 11. Singapore, A Posting that became a Home
• 12. The Miracle Known as Singapore
• 13. Geography and Destiny
• 14. Singapore on My Mind…
• 15. Some of My Best Years as Ambassador
• 16. My Impressions of Singapore
• 17. The Singapore Experience — Love at Second Sight
• 18. Singapore and Globalisation: Benchmarks Set
• 19. My Days in Singapore — Looking East and Loving It
• 20. Singapore
• 21. My Assignment in Singapore
• 22. My Life in Singapore — Reminiscences
• 23. Building Foundations for Japan and Singapore Relations
• 24. My Experience as Ambassador of Japan to Singapore
• 25. Singapore, What Kind of a Little Red Dot?
• 26. In Celebration of a Kazakhstan–Singapore Partnership
• 27. Thoughts, Refl ections, and Experiences of the Little Red Dot
• 28. My Career in the Lao Foreign Affairs Ministry
• 29. Sustaining Malaysia–Singapore Relations — People of Goodwill on Both Sides
• 30. The Best for Singapore is Yet to Be
• 31. Brand Name Singapore
• 32. Recollections of a Singapore Posting
• 33. Manicured and Choreographed: The Story of Effervescent Singapore
• 34. My Easiest Diplomatic Posting
• 35. Reflections
• 36. Singapore Matters, Indeed!
• 37. Chopin, Football and Diplomacy
• 38. What Does Singapore Mean to Me?:
• 39. From Riyadh to Singapore
• 40. Singapore — From “Red Dot” to “Shining Star”
• 41. Singapore as a Little Giant
• 42. My Refl ections on Singapore
• 43. Refl ections on Singapore: Three Years and Five Months on the Little Red Dot
• 44. The Increasingly Important Role of Diplomats in Trade and Investment Promotion — Swedish Experiences in Singapore
• 45. The Rewarding Years in Singapore
• 46. Singapore and Switzerland — From Inspiration to Inspiration
• 47. Singapore — In Search of the Body and the Soul
• 48. Deep Mutual Respect: Policies and Personalities Make a Difference
• 49. Singapore: An Enriching Experience Professionally and Personally
• 50. Fostering Everlasting Friendship and Relations Between Timor-Leste and Singapore
• 51. Turkey and Singapore — A Long and Good Relationship
• 52. Singapore — A Special Place in My Heart
• 53. Two Singapores, Twenty-Five Years Apart
• 54. Singapore at the Turn of the Century: A Personal View
• 55. Raffl es’ Legacy — Where East Meets West
• 56. A Remarkable Red Dot: An American View
• 57. Building U.S.–Singapore Ties through Trade and Investment
• 58. Singapore Diplomacy — A View from the Other Side
• 59. A Multi–Faceted Career
• 60. Singapore Island State — Asia’s “European” Metropolis
• 61. Building a New Singapore–Vietnam Partnership
• Index
• About the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)