News: The Straits Times -  4 February 2010


Growing ties between Middle East and Asia
By Jeremy Au Yong


MANAMA (BAHRAIN): Ties between the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East will continue to grow as Arab countries increasingly look to the East, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

He made this point in an interview with Bahraini newspaper Al-Ayam published yesterday.

The Senior Minister is in the Bahraini capital, Manama, on the second leg of his six-day visit to the region.

In the interview, he described the Asian and Arab countries as 'indispensable partners'.

Noting that more than 60 per cent of Arab oil and oil-related products are being exported to the Asia-Pacific region, he said: 'I believe that the linkages between the Arab countries and Asia will continue to strengthen.

He added: 'With the rise of China and India, and their collective demand for oil and its derivatives, our two regions are fast becoming indispensable partners.'

Similarly, he said he was heartened to see that relations between Bahrain and Singapore have grown stronger despite last year's economic slump.

Bilateral trade rose from $471 million in 2008 to $557 million last year.

Many Singapore-based companies, including BreadTalk, shoe retailer Charles & Keith, and Banyan Tree resorts have set up shop in the Gulf island nation.

Singapore developer CapitaLand is even setting up a mall, Raffles City Bahrain, here.

He also said he would be encouraging more Singaporean companies to venture into the region.

Bahrain was one of the first Middle East countries SM Goh visited in 2004 when he began Singapore's push into the region, and ties have been growing since.

Yesterday, the Bahrainis rolled out the red carpet for the Senior Minister as he met the top three leaders of the country: King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad and Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa.

Crown Prince Salman is his host for this visit.

During the meeting, King Hamad described Singapore and Bahrain as being two brotherly states, with the same ideas and aspirations.

SM Goh and King Hamad exchanged views on the international financial crisis as well as recent developments in the two countries. They also talked about possible cooperation in the fields of renewable energy and water resources.

During the call on Crown Prince Salman, the two leaders reaffirmed the close ties and agreed that there was much for both sides to learn from each other.

The bilateral relationship is underpinned by the fact that the two countries have a lot in common, so much so that Bahrain is sometimes known as the 'Singapore of the Gulf'.

Both are small island nations with small domestic markets, and both are connected by causeways to large neighbours.

They are also intent on remaking their labour force into a more skilled one.

SM Goh noted in the interview that there have been several high-level exchanges between Singapore's Manpower Ministry and Bahraini officials on labour reforms.

Speaking on the topic, which is also a focus in this week's Economic Strategies Committee report, he said it was a problem with difficult questions and no easy solutions.

He said Singapore's challenges include how to manage the inflow of foreign workers, how to upgrade the productivity and skills of workers and how to strike a balance between good pay and remaining competitive.

SM Goh wraps up his visit to the region today.

- end of ST article