Mission Updates

SPEECH BY H.E. TAN HUNG SENG, AMBASSADOR OF SINGAPORE AT THE DINNER RECEPTION IN HONOUR OF THE EGYPTIAN OLYMPIC TEAM FOR THE SINGAPORE 2010 YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES, 6 AUGUST 2010, 7.30PM, CONRAD HOTEL CAIRO

Mr Medhat El Beltagy, Executive Director of the Egyptian National Sports Council

General Mahmoud Ahmed Ali, President of the Egyptian Olympic Committee

Members of the Egyptian Youth Olympic Team, distinguished guests, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted to welcome all of you to this special reception in honour of the young athletes and officials of the Egyptian Youth Olympic Team who will be leaving very soon to participate in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. In eight days' time, youth from around the world will come together to celebrate another milestone in the Olympic Movement. For the first time, young people will have an Olympics that they can call their own. All of you will be making history. It is a singular honour for Singapore to host the first Youth Olympic Games and I can assure you that Singaporeans from all walks of life are also excited and looking forward to welcome all of you to our country.

2 The Singapore Youth Olympic Games is more than just about sport and victories. It is about expressing the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. It is also about the young athletes interacting with each other, sharing with each other about their different cultures, customs and religions, as well as exchanging views on the challenges facing youth today. The great African statesman Nelson Mandela once said "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair". This is certainly the vision of the Youth Olympic Games and I hope that you will also experience this in Singapore.

3 For many of you, this could be your first visit to Singapore or even to Asia. You are probably very excited and wondering what Singapore will be like. I would first like to assure you that you will find the weather in Singapore to be just as hot as Cairo! But the difference is that the high temperature is accompanied by high humidity, which may cause some discomfort to Egyptians, who are more accustomed to hot and dry weather. Another similarity that you will notice is that Singapore is highly urbanised like Cairo. However, unlike Cairo, with its 18 to 20 million population, Singapore's population is only about 4.8 million. In fact, I often jest with my Egyptian friends that Singapore is small enough to fit within the boundaries of Shoubra. During your stay, you will discover that Singapore has many facets. It is a compact city-state, a well-connected hub and a harmonious multi-racial, multi-religious society. This multi-faceted character is reflected in the extensive variety of cuisines that you will find in Singapore. Hence, for this evening's reception, we have specially chosen a selection of South-east Asian dishes to get you started on your Singapore adventure. I do hope you will enjoy the food this evening.

4 I also hope that your time in Singapore will be meaningful and help to build bridges between the youth of our two countries. Singapore and Egypt enjoy excellent and substantive relations. We cooperate in many areas, including trade, finance, culture and education. In particular, Egypt has been the favoured destination for Muslim Singaporeans seeking higher Islamic education. Many Singaporean Muslim leaders, including our current Mufti, were educated at the Al-Azhar University. In fact, some of our students are present this evening. I hope that you will have the chance to interact with them and ask them more about Singapore.

5 Before I conclude, I would like to wish the Egyptian team every success for the Singapore Youth Olympic Games. I am confident that each and everyone of you will give off your best and do Egypt proud. I understand that the Egyptian Olympic Committee is also celebrating its centennial anniversary. I would like to congratulate the Egyptian Olympic Committee for its many past sporting achievements and hope that this special anniversary will spur the young Egyptian Olympians to even greater heights in Singapore. I am happy that we have five of Egypt's medallists from the 1984 Los Angeles and 2004 Athens Games with us tonight. I am sure that they will serve as an inspiration to the younger athletes.

6 Finally, allow me to take this opportunity to acknowledge and express my appreciation to our sponsors for generously supporting this evening's event. They are: (a) Al-Mansour Automotive (b) APL Egypt (c) OLAM Egypt, (d) Singapore Airlines and last but not least, Conrad Hotel. Their generous contributions have made this evening possible. I wish everyone an enjoyable evening. Thank you.

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