MFA Press Statement: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam at the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, 21 September 2014

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam, who is in New York for the 69^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) attended the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate Change, which was co-chaired by US Secretary of State John Kerry, French Foreign Minister Laurence Fabius and Peruvian Foreign Minister Gonzalo Gutierrez Reinel.  During the meeting, Minister Shanmugam spoke about the foreign policy and security implications arising from unprecedented weather events and other forms of climate impact, particularly for island states such as Singapore.  He also expressed support for a legally-binding global agreement on climate action with universal participation that is anchored in a multilateral, rules-based system under which all countries make a fair contribution, bearing in mind their respective national circumstances.  Minister Shanmugam further pointed out that Singapore had made early and conscious policy choices, such as switching to natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel, for over 90% of our power generation.  Singapore was also active in sharing our experience in adaption and mitigation with other countries through the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) and other more customised Sustainable Development and Climate Change (SDCC) programmes.

Minister Shanmugam also had a meeting with Minister Fabius to exchange views on how both countries could deepen cooperation on climate issues.  Minister Shanmugam expressed Singapore’s support to France, which will be the incoming President of the 21^st Conference of Parties (COP-21) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015, in its efforts to successfully achieve a new global post-2020 climate agreement.

Minister Shanmugam attended a dinner organised by the Atlantic Council which honoured former Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew with its Global Citizen Award.  This award was launched by the Atlantic Council five years ago to celebrate individuals for their significant contributions to improving the state of the world.  When accepting the award on Mr Lee’s behalf, Minister Shanmugam said that it was worth noting what Mr Lee had consistently advocated in the context of big power relations, including the US and its role in Asia.  Mr Lee understood that the presence of the US was vital to regional peace and balance, and hence had spoken in support for a strong US presence in the region.  Mr Lee also recognised that despite its challenges, the US remained at the pinnacle of international hierarchy, given the creativity, resilience, and innovative spirit of its people and its open door to talent from abroad.  At the same time, Mr Lee was also close to and taken seriously by the leaders of China, from the late Mr Deng Xiaoping to succeeding Chinese leaders.  Mr Lee had encouraged China to become stakeholder in the international system and engaged the Chinese in many other ways.  Beyond the US and China, Mr Lee was taken seriously by many other world capitals as well.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
22 SEPTEMBER 2014