In the picture Premier Armin Laschet and Ambassador Laurence Bay – Picture by Land NRW.
Friday, 3 May 2019, Düsseldorf, NRW: Singaporean Ambassador Laurence Bay paid a courtesy visit to the premier of Germany’s most populous federal state, and duly signed the guest-book of the state government.
A pivotal topic of conversation between the two dignitaries was the special function held by Singapore in the framework of ASEAN, for the republic acts as coordinator till July 2021 of EU-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) relations. Moreover the EU inked a trade agreement with the city-state in October of 2018, a first vis-à-vis an ASEAN country.
Singapore is independent since 1965, and is the tiniest state in all of Asia. Beside Hong Kong the country is deemed as a reliable, innovative and high-tech financial place. The trade between North Rhine-Westphalia and Singapore amounts to ca. 1,3 billion Euros with a strong focus on the chemical industry. Beyond that there are fourteen existing academic and scientific cooperations between NRW colleges and ones in Singapore.
For further information:
https://www.land.nrw/de/pressemitteilung/ministerpraesident-armin-laschet-empfaengt-den-botschafter-der-republik-singapur
