MFA Press Statement: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam at the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly, 27 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), met his counterparts from Guinea, Marshall Islands and Turkey on the sidelines. Minister Shanmugam also co-chaired with the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, Manuel Gonzalez Sanz, the inaugural ASEAN-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Ministerial Meeting.

        In Minister Shanmugam’s meeting with the Foreign Minister of Guinea, Francois Louceny Fall, both Ministers affirmed the value of the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) through which Singapore shared its areas of expertise with developing countries, such as Guinea.

        Minister Shanmugam and the Foreign Minister of Marshall Islands, Tony DeBrum, noted the positive momentum in bilateral relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in new areas such as water technology.

        Minister Shanmugam and the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, welcomed the strengthening of Singapore-Turkey relations, which was underpinned by regular high-level interactions and economic linkages between both sides.  Both Ministers also exchanged views on how Singapore and Turkey could serve as hubs for their respective companies seeking business opportunities in each other’s regions.

        At the ASEAN-CELAC meeting, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and CELAC took note of their respective countries’ shared objectives, such as narrowing the development gap, and discussed possible areas for further cooperation between the two regional organisations.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
28 SEPTEMBER 2014