27 Mar 2018
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan was invited to speak at the Nanyang Technological University Ministerial Forum on 27 March 2018. He touched on key issues in Singapore’s foreign policy – (i) globalisation, (ii) ASEAN, (iii) connectivity and (iv) the Digital Revolution. He also shared the “Singapore ideal” and how foreign policy “begins at home”. “For the sake of an ideal, of equality, of a fair and just society, we ended up as a ‘little red dot’ with no hinterland. But because we ended up in that very difficult situation, we fortunately embarked on globalisation, early, and we got a head start. Now, there is a new revolution, we need to get ahead again. We cannot just repeat the formula of the last 52 years. We need to take a realistic assessment of what is going on in the world. Both geopolitically, we need to reaffirm the importance of free trade, the exchange of ideas and information, and we need to master the technologies of tomorrow. And if we do that, our ‘little red dot’ continues to be a shining ‘red dot’.” – Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Read the full transcript here.
