Singapore and the United States have renewed an agreement for joint training courses in Southeast Asia.
The third country training program aims to help officials in ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste reach development goals.
The agreement has been renewed every year since 2012. More than 40 workshops and seminars have been conducted in ASEAN countries so far. It moved to a virtual platform last year because of the pandemic.
United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said, “We have together trained more than 15,000 government officials from countries in the Southeast Asia region, working in areas like cybersecurity, health security, smart cities where Singaporean and American experts work together, teach together and share together.”
Both sides have also welcomed future cooperation in other areas with an emphasis on climate change and environmental sustainability.
Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan said, “50 agencies have been involved on both sides and we are now updating it to include other emerging areas particularly in the digital space, smart cities, epidemic preparation.. so this is our fourth cycle and maybe continue this for the long term.. it’s a wonderful example of how we can work together, do good together, and be helpful to our neighbors.”
