Last year I had the honour to be part of the delegation hositng the state visit to the UK by the President of Singapore, and as part of our ongoing work to encourage business links to Singapore we held a special event for their 50th anniversiary.
The guests of honour included The Singaporean High Commissioner, the Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Alan Yarrow and Minister of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Office the Rt Hon Hugo Swire MP, and all spoke warmly of Singapore bilateral relations with the United Kingdom.
The Singapore story is remarkable – how it achieved independence in 1965 amid severe doubt it could survive at all with its tiny size and severe lack of natural resources.
Yet the island succeeded against the odds, deftly navigating its way through stormy waters of domestic turmoil, regional strife and international politics.
It made use of every single advantage it had, emerging on the world stage as a major commercial hub, financial centre and global player, all based on investing in the education of its people – a lesson we must all remember.