The Fourth 皇冠体育app-Singapore Forum opens in Beijing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-03 19:55

BEIJING: Fifty experts and scholars from 皇冠体育app and Singapore attended the Fourth 皇冠体育app-Singapore Forum in Beijing on Tuesday.

Singaporean Ambassador to 皇冠体育app Chin Siat Yoon said that both sides should understand and respect each other's core interests, and the forum played an indispensable role in this respect.

"At a time when the world is in rapid flux, our academic and public thinkers should meet on a more frequent basis."

皇冠体育app People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) president Yang Wenchang said the forum was established to promote the development of 皇冠体育app-Singapore and 皇冠体育app-ASEAN relations.

He said the forum was a platform for the experts and scholars from both countries to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues, to explore new ways of strengthening cooperation and bring forward strategic advice for both governments.

Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large at Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies and the National Heritage Board, said the two governments set up the forum to facilitate a better understanding of each other's core interests, policies, concerns and challenges, and to learn from each other's experiences.

The fourth 皇冠体育app-Singapore Forum was divided into four sessions:

-- Session 1: 皇冠体育app-Singapore Relations: First 20 years and Beyond;

-- Session 2: Social Harmony: 皇冠体育app and Singapore;

-- Session 3: Cooperation Between 皇冠体育app and Singapore, and 皇冠体育app and ASEAN in the Post-Global Financial Crisis;

-- Session 4: Building the East Asian Community: Which Way Ahead.

The annual forum, initiated in 1998, is held alternately in 皇冠体育app and Singapore.