Corrected Transcript – Singapore Embassy Thailand Visit

This version applies contextual corrections to speech-recognition errors while preserving

Embassy Talk - Transcription Time: June 2, 2026 2:32:08 PM Topic: Standard recording 9

00:00 Counselor team. So um I understand that you're here on an arts and cultural studies.
And then I think I saw your itinerary a little bit. I think you went you guys went to like jim
thompson. Uh. And you're also going to be, I think the new museum here we went
yesterday. Oh, you went okay. Cool. I haven't been myself. I hope you guys have had a good
stay in Bangkok so far. Um sorry about that. Today's presentation is really just to broadly
cover the scope um of the work that we do here at the embassy to Advance um the bilateral
relationship between Singapore,Thailand. 00:36 So, um just to give you an overview of
today's session, uh, I'll start off with a short introduction of MFA. Uh, and then share a bit
more about. 00:48 So Singapore's relationship with Thailand as well as ASEAN. And then
after that xavier will share a bit more about how we have the embassy helps. Singapore is
here. And then after the presentations we open the floor to questions. Um will answer your
question. So it's quite a casual session. Uh feel free to just ask us anything. Um and then after
that we can check some like the questions for you guys. So we can um you know also can,
you know like if you have any questions about personal Experiences or some questions that
you might not be more like might not be that comfortable raising here, like feel free to just
Um. 01:26 Okay, 01:29 Okay. So um the Singapore Embassy is essentially an outpost for
Singapore and the Singapore government. Um so on the picture, it's it's a picture from um
our national day reception last year. So there's a good photo of um ambassador in the
middle and then everyone else. So this is not just, uh, to be embassy. Very briefly, we have
people from um the ministry of foreign affairs, uh but we also have a Prime Minister's Office.
We have representatives uh presented this from enterprise Singapore uh EDB uh so on And
so forth. So that's why it looks quite large Here. 02:04 And also of course AA local staff. Um
so yeah there are two key aspects to our work. Um the first is the serve Singaporeans, where
either they live in or the stay in Thailand. So for instance, the embassy of west consular and
notarial um services, some points here which maybe will share more later. Um the second
aspect of our work is keeping colleagues in Singapore are informed of um the latest
developments and relevant happenings here and of course representing Singapore um and
events in [Link] one important goal is to find or create space for Singapore to work
with our host country to our mutual Benefit. 02:44 So we explore new and emerging areas
of cooperation with Thailand, and of course to do that it involves understanding the country
and its priorities deeply, which often means speaking to a lot of key figures uh figures this
includes uh politicians, civil servants, academics and anyone else who you know is a
political watcher basically uh we speak to them to you know pick up the insights and
explore opportunities that uh we can discuss further. 03:16 So a big part of our job is also to
share about Singapore and our host country. The embassy regularly shares and our
counterpart about policies or recent developments in Singapore. And sometimes we also
defend um positions as Singapore has taken on various methods. So it's not an uncommon
for parliamentarians in Thailand to ask us about how Singapore approached certain issues
before they discuss it in parliament. So for example, whether it's on the issue of um casinos
or how we discuss CDC or GST vouchers, these are Some examples of the kind of
conversations that we have. So our job is to portray Singapore in a more positively and to
act as a bridge between our two Countries. 03:56 So, um so then you have a photo of our
ambassador representing her credentials to the king. And then, uh, on the right, uh,
ambassador is having a meeting with the deputy prime minister and college minister. Uh,
so, so we do. Uh ambassador goes around to sort of call on uh the different ministers and
cabinet members. So it's a chance for her to also you know discuss, uh learn more about
their priorities and find areas where we can try to, uh explore working together for the or
maybe some project or Something like That. 04:29 So, um just a very quick run run down on
Thailand. Uh Thailand was officially called Siam uh it is a country that has never been
brought under european colonial domination. Um Thailand was ruled by an absolute
monarchy until there was a revolution in nineteen thirty two. Uh but since then Thailand
has been a constitutional monarchy and all subsequent constitutions have provided for
elected power. So the current head of state is rama, the tenth king, Maha Vajiralongkorn,
who has reigned since twenty Sixteen, um in february twenty twenty six, Thailand had its,
uh Thailand held its general Election. 05:10 Uh, it was a hotly contested one. And prime
minister and tim punjai thai party, uh, secure events like victory. Uh and it was the strongest
showing by any political party since twenty eleven. 05:23 So Thailand has the second
largest economy in southeast ASEAN. Um its economic structure comprises mainly services
and industry, um with tourism and manufacturing being the core engines of the economy.
Um its economy is largely driven by small and medium enterprises and thai conglomerates.
So some of the conglomerates that might be familiar to you guys would be like cp and like
the one time soup of like really make products that this nuggets. Yeah let's see. You see in
our supermarket. Um, and of course There's like a thai bed, uh, which is also one of the big
type of moments that, uh, you might have come Across. 06:03 So Thailand has a population
of about seventy one million people. Uh it's a shrinking population because they also have
an aging population. Us, um the labor form is about forty million and the GDP per capita is
about. 06:21 Those are not the most updated famous about seven point eight usd um and
the photos, their total particular thirty rate is slightly under one. So they are the steady on
the second lower total capacity rate in ASEAN. Uh right after Singapore. So they are also
facing uh aging population. Uh some challenges related to that. 06:42 So moving on to
Singapore, Thailand, uh Singapore and Thailand are longstanding partners, reestablished
relations. Um very shortly after independence in nineteen sixty five, so last year we
celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our
two countries and the embassy organized many events to commemorate the occasion. Uh
we launched a commemorative logo in january twenty twenty five that's put on the left. Um
and we also hosted a dollar premiere of the Singapore Thailandco-production who launched
a cook festival uh we. Also had an art exhibition which the thai commerce minister um
attended as the guest of honor um There. 07:23 Are a lot of photos from all these events but
if, you want to look at the photos please follow, our facebook and our Instagram accounts
yeah. 07:32 Okay. So um we enjoy very good political and institutional links and regular
exchanges. So one of the bilateral mainstays we have is the civil service exchange program,
or what we call csat is the picture on the right. Um csat has been the main platform for
bilateral exchanges since nineteen ninety eight. Um it is a platform for various government
agencies from both countries to come together and have discussions. So last year in october,
um we had the foreign minister, sihasa from the gal. Uh he visited Singapore for the
fifteenth season. Um it was a successful Visit. 08:11 Uh both sides agreed to do more to
collaborate in new and emerging areas such as sustainable development, new economy,
food security and carbon credits. On the economic front, we have the Singapore, Thailand
enhanced economic relationship. All are still. The other picture on the left is a key platform
for economic engagement between our ministry of trade and industry and the thai ministry
of commerce and steer has been in place since two thousand and two. 08:42 There are also
frequent high level exchanges and regular interactions between our leaders. For instance
her royal highness princess maha. Um she regularly visits Singapore. Uh most recently she
visited in january this year for the global young scientist summit. Um prime minister
Lawrence wong made his introduction visit to Thailand in november twenty twenty four
and prime minister anitan made his introduction visit to Singapore in november twenty
twenty five. 09:13 So um both countries have a very substantive economic relationship. Uh
we have a growing trade. We have growing trade and investment ties, which also reflect the
trajectory of our overall but relationship. So we consistent Singapore consistently features,
sorry, we both countries consistently feature among each other's top ten trading partners.
Uh bachelor trade in twenty twenty four amounted to over forty four billion Singapore
dollars, which is quite significant. Uh Singapore is also consistently among The top five
foreign investors in Thailand. Uh there are some figures that position us as a top investor in
Thailand. Uh in twenty, twenty four and twenty twenty Five. 09:55 Uh Singapore companies
are also active in Thailand. Uh, this includes in the fme, hospitality, transport, logistics and
sustainability sectors. So some big players that are here in good prayer which contributes
from one to one to about one percent of Thailand's GDP. Um and also this eagle so you will
be is also the second largest for our bank here in terms of tourism. We have over one million
visitors from Singapore. Uh, visiting Thailand last year. So it's pretty much the figures are
pretty much back to Pre COVID 啊这个是。 10:30 Uh overall, I think um both countries have a
very mature relationship, so we are always looking to do more. Uh one recent area of
corporations and finance. So in twenty, twenty one, um Singapore and Thailand established
old first real time payment system's linkage you can pay on the property. So using your um
bank apps, you can just scan the property qr codes here in Thailand and you can just pay
directly without having like type part in your account. So that one is it's the world's first
one. So it's Quite cool. Um some other areas that we are keen to explore further include a
trading cover Credits. 11:09 We assigned an implementation agreement in august last year.
Um we are also exploring more cooperation of food security given how much food report
um in Singapore uh behind the rice cooperation.哎我 sorry. 11:25 Sorry for that. Uh we signed
a rice cooperation, rice cooperation um agreement in november last year. And of course we
also exploring cross border purchase of renewable energy. So just something very quick on
asean. You know besides bilateral cooperation, we work very closely with Thailand at the
multilateral fora of course, one especially important one is asean. Asean was actually
founded in back of in nineteen sixty seven, um at the height of the cold war. So we had five
founding members of last Year, uh which is which are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Thailand and Singapore. between nineteen eighty four and nineteen ninety nine, um we saw
the addition of Brunei, Cambodia and Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. 12:13 And uh with
Timor-Leste being admitted as a member last year, we now have eleven members. 12:22 So
over the years, uh there have been a lot of regular interactions uh between the asean
leaders and officials. You know it helps us to build the poll, uh, expand cooperation, broaden
engagement, and you know understand each other better. So asean is a key pillar of
Singapore's foreign policy. it enlarges our political and economic space. it provides us access
to expand markets and opportunities. it also foster social progress and cultural
understanding amongst um ASEAN member states. 12:57 Asean has also helped to build a
stable, open and inclusive regional architecture which is brought about security growth and
development for our people. 13:10 So asean has a lot of Singapore and of course Thailand
and all the other asean member seats uh to establish partnerships with eleven major
partners, uh which we call our dialogue partners. So besides these dialogue partnerships, uh
there are also other asean web platforms like the east ASEAN summit and the asean
regional forum. So all of these together have enhanced cooperation in asean and our
external partners and all of these contribute to regional peace and stability. So Singapore
has always advocated For 啊。 13:43 Has always advocated for engaging major part, uh,
players. So they have a stake in the peace and stability and development of our region,
which also creates a stable balance of power in the ASEAN pacific. So I'm done with my part.
So now I will pass the time to xavier. Thank you. 14:08 对 I will bring you through some of
the any members that we deal with. Daily admission can be broadly classified into these six
categories. So let me mention hts and analysts. They actually bring the home based stuff or
essentially staff is sending from Singapore, from the industry. But we also accompanied by
fourteen high staff that you put locally to support our day to day operation as part of the
annual team. We essentially service department. So we do things like the registration on
boarding and all the Other related processes to make sure that how to be some can function
in Thailand. 14:45 But for the local repeater stuff, we also do things like the recruitment we
look into the progression as well as the eventually exit. 14:54 For financial procurement. Uh
the M team handles the budget of the MCU, which is actually quite large. So we will also run
and operate the procurement processes and this will include things like proturing
electricity lights, water for you to drink, the mango stick you guys are eating eating later.
15:23 For broken members. The embassy actually deals with visits from ministers and such
guests. So what we would do is from the inside of the house we would support uh
essentially all about the state arrangements such as the cars on a regular airport, yeah all
the bookings and all the other things necessary to make sure that a visit runs smoothly. So
we essentially call me with the. 15:51 For security. I'm very sure as you walked in just now
you have seen the big gate that we have so we will look into how we have it. We maintain
the security infrastructure, such as your motion detectors, your parameter security, we go
into the security guards. So this is just to make sure that the embassy itself remains a safe
space for everyone. 16:15 For properties management. Uh you may not look like it, but this
building here is actually over twenty years old. So day to day, we have a lot of things to
maintain, things break down, we have to replace the parts. So it builds up a list and then we
just, it's a rolling maintenance basis. And then for consular matters. So this msc is the only
diplomatic mission in Thailand from Singapore. it also means that we oversee and we
provide consumer assistance from the entirety of Thailand. And as you have seen,Our team
here is rather small and we are unable to fly down and provide physical assistance to each
and every singaporean in Need. 16:56 So a lot of what we do involves calling the
singaporean, rendering the advice, the department of the situation. And we also coordinate
with the local authorities to make sure that the singaporean can return to Singapore safety
and family. 17:11 So finance is a very popular destination uh both for short term travel or
before holidays or trips such as ourselves as well as long term stairs here. So we have
approximately Plus minus three thousand Singapore to live here on longer basis for the
whole world study or uh their families here or some even be dialed here. So we need to
provide assistance releasing our friends to stay here for a long time. 17:39 So this is an
example of some of the possible services we provide. 17:44 So DOI refers to a document of
identity. This is a very important document that we issued within our programs who have
lost their passport and you will present this in case of your passport at the immigration
counter. 17:58 Uh we also have singaporeans who unfortunately are arrested detail on any
season here. Unfortunately our role here is to make sure that the singaporean is treated
fairly and humanely. But at the same time it's very important to know that we must respect
the thai legal and judicial processes. We do not interfere in these processes, the same as
how we will not let the Thais interfere with Singapore's laws and judicial regimes. 18:24 Uh
part of our function in assisting those who are arrested also involves making sure that
they're able to contact the next key. So they can pass some messages and open. 18:34 We
also have unfortunately have, uh, hospitalization cases and accidents. So that happens when
Singaporeans are involved in motorcycle accidents, car accidents or even for long term
stairs who remain here. They follow you in their homage. Then they become cases for us to
assist me. So all we do is say we notify the next-of-kin in Singapore and then uh the ministry
will not put the bill but we will assist to communicate the next-of-kin. What is the situation
of this uh person in the hospital? And then, uh What do we get those and many back back to
Singapore in missiles as for deportation cases, we actually have some as Well. 19:13 So this
happens in situations where for example, it's informed of me it's a prime pilot. And the state
here is no longer part of the thai government in united of Singapore. We coordinate with
thai city back in Singapore and the thai local authorities. 19:29 Uh it's actually facilitate
everything in Singapore. it involves things like issuing them in DOI. If there are travel
documentation is not provided, we also assist to communicate links of him, the callings of
him to purchase copies for him back to Singapore. 19:47 Uh unfortunately we also have
cases of death here. And what we will do is that we will inform the ministry back in
Singapore and the ministry will then inform the exhausting in Singapore of the passing of
the left one here, and then thereafter they will contact MFA and we'll assist them with the
local procedures and paperwork on the ground. 20:09 Uh, as for passport application, that
happens when for example, a single operator doesn't access to the same pass. They need to
make a manual application through the embassy. And even if you have the ability to make
an online application by Singpass, you will still eventually need to come to us to get your
passport master. 20:30 So as you can see here, the personal service that you provide the
most is issuance of your life. So I kindly ask that all of you please keep your passports. 20:49
We also assist singaporeans in times of major crisis, such as the game number five that
happened. 21:08 Beyond the collapse of a double story building here. We also have a lot of
singaporeans were evacuated from the hotel rooms and the airbnb because the building uh
superengineers, we're going to ascertain that the baby is safe before the Singapore entry
return. So what happened was that you receive a damage or calls from the singaporeans
who uh she need advice on what they do needs. And some of them also worried because
they they evacuated from the building and and the room and the deaf can put spot in the
Room. So they were worried that they were not able to fetch the flats because uh, it would
take time for the structure engineer to go in and assess the building is Safe. 21:47 Uh I
advice is very much that they should wait for the building to be that safe before you go in.
Uh miss flight, you can always be your life. You cannot really reboot. 21:59 Yeah besides uh
very important calls that came in from the singaporeans, we also uh help to get information
from the thai authorities, uh digital things, singaporeans on what to do next and what to
look back for. And these are pushed through our social media channels and as well as our E
registration channel. So like what my colleague amanda say, do, follow our Instagram page,
22:23 我操 22:30 Another major crisis. 22:34 Star Buds in november two thousand and five.
So ah yeah it's a city in the province of sangha which is south of Thailand. 22:43 So uh
during the flood itself, 22:45 We had hundreds of singaporeans were stranded in the city
and we received calls from both. The singaporeans were stranded as well as the family
member, spain, Singapore, because you always have some problem. So you want now, as I
mentioned, you have a very, very small investment and we have very limited resources. So
that means we don't have boats to bring down the soundcloud and have the eye to rescue
the single province directly. But what we couldn't do was we could coordinate with the type
of Authorities, the non government, but the ngos, as well as the volunteer malaysian
firefighters who were there on around Themselves. 23:23 So we will collect information on
where the singaporeans are, which hotels they were staying in, and then those who require
urgent medical assistance so they can be prioritized. 23:34 Uh once the flood waters have
actually subsided a little bit, the embassy have also arranged for a van to very singaporeans
from the mall uh near central parallel to bring them to the airport that was outside further
up to the summer area. And uh, we also assisted to have, uh, what's a check? Groups to push
up timing updates? Uh one of the problems that we actually face was that mary eventually
managed to bring the singaporean city airport uh school had actually canceled flights from
katya back to Singapore because the pressing few days they had low passenger loads
because of the floods and want to get to the Airport. 24:13 So what happens that mfh should
then work closely with school to reinstate these flights to enable singaporeans to return to
Singapore? 24:24 We also sent down one quite a few staff to the airport to account for
singaporeans who were leaving at the rich so that we know who was still left behind. 24:39
So yeah, that is very fun. True for all of us. And we are not talking. 25:00 嗯。 25:02 I think
students, let's let us first do our partners. We have the socials up there. So I want to see
seventeen followers up by today 分析。 25:16 He once once you've done that you can, uh ask a
question. Yeah. So which one's your friend? Uh, I thought you say your friend is it's not here.
it's not here. The ambassador. 25:31 What is it? SG embassy in Beijing right? How can we
follow this one? 25:39 哇。 25:45 What's your name? Okay? 25:49 We already follow it. 25:51
In fact, all our overseas missions have her social media pages, so they all follow them. They
actually darker. 26:06 So take a look at the country. 26:12 Any questions. 26:19 嗯。 26:21
That marvel experience is working. 26:29 XI think in this on the stages, as uh david has
mentioned, uh, it would be the earthquake and also there is a Plus, uh, I think London was
very memorable or something that people. 26:50 Thailand in itself is not going to be on any
particular spotlight, so it's not supposed to be a painful place. So personally for me, when it
happened, uh, I was having a work meetings uh, on the twenty seventh floor and it started
to shake very violently and everyone was like, oh, is this vertigo? But we were not drinking.
You know so when we looked out, uh we saw that things were moving. And because we
were on top of a very high hotel, we started to see water from the pool. Space flashed up and
we Instinctively hit under the Table. 27:31 And it was maybe less than two minutes of
violent shaking, but it felt like a lifetime because you could hear cracks. And at that moment
you thought that the building might actually collapse. And when it was no longer shaking
the hotel staff, uh, they quickly rushed us down the uh, emergency exit and it was good. No
one was rushing, but it was still like twenty seven flags of of stairs that you are actually
rushing down. And it was the first time that, uh, Bangkok was completely paralyzed. So, uh,
they Were stuck at, everyone was stuck and we had to basically try to contact all our local,
uh, all our homemade staff and our local Staff. 28:22 And we had colleagues, uh one of our
colleagues'wife was actually living in the building next door and she had to run down fifty
over flights of stairs. And and she actually went into shock and we had to send her to the
hospital. So these things are very real and we cannot prepare enough for a new disaster
because Singapore is so safe. But whenever um Singapore is travel, we always Encourage
um everyone to E register because we use this system to actually sms and email of
singaporeans. And this could be, IMean this was a shock and a scare and it didn't have very
far reaching, uh, consequences or Repercussions. 29:10 Uh but I personally have the served
in Japan and and China before and during covid. So it was also during the COVID time in
China where we did evacuation, and so actually having single farmers E register with us was
very helpful because we eventually reached out to everyone to make sure everyone was
safe. So that is a memorable um instance from a very consumer and direct interaction with
Singapore. So as they mentioned, you know that people that had to be sent to the hospital
because they also experienced Shock and it was very scary because uh, you didn't know and
information was not flowing uh as Fast. 29:58 So part of that emphasis job is to also you
know reach out to all the contact points and give the most accurate information to
Singapore. 30:12 So if you want to pursue a job in this aspect, what are the subject
combinations you have to take in university? 30:22 That is a very real question which, uh,
30:27 All of us actually come from very different uh fields of study. So uh, I myself am a
political science and psychology major 来对应我们的 global studies psychology. And I had
colleagues who did mathematics, just pure mathematics. Uh we also have like engineers, so
MFA is not a case where we actually we have many lawyers in MFA as well. Uh it's not a
place where we are so specific about the field of study because as you know, the world is is
very different now and we are just plugged into the global economy and Geopolitics is a
very live Issue. 31:14 So it's more like whether you actually understand how the world
works and increasingly in Singapore we're talking about the use of AI. So how do you
actually incorporate that into your studies? How do you use your field of study to actually
look at the world? So a lot of my colleagues who are engineers and mathematicians or they
do more scientific study, they are actually very good at um the technical aspects of the
world. For instance, we have departments, uh like the international organizations, they
Actually do a lot of climate change, which is quite technical um area of study because you
kind of need to know the science behind what's actually changing and why you pursue
certain Policies. 32:08 And you have some that are in international economics department.
They also uh perhaps have have done a lot in economics. Uh they maybe study finance or
even business. So they do see how these uh different interactions work. I mean of course if
you go to a place like miniature training industry, that yes, you know economics, uh legal
background is informed of legal solutions. But in the place that MFA, what you really need is
uh a passion because sometimes we call it a twenty four seven job. You don't Know when uh
say a crisis to happen, you don't know um when the conflict Happens. 32:55 So like conflict
that is as far as in gaza, Iran, they have far reaching consequences for Singapore and I'm
sure you are experiencing it now day to day fuel prices, electricity prices are getting more
expensive and there is a constant consequence to it. And it's because the world has shifted.
And even after the war in in the Middle East, Japan, the reality is that the world has changed
and you have um increasingly you hear countries that are middle powers, like Canada, like
Australia, New Zealand,India, they are all moving in this space and you have to understand
where's the courses amongst all these Changes. 33:43 So I wouldn't say any discipline or
study will really prepare you for it. But if you are truly interested in um current affairs, a
good place to start is actually reading the newspaper every day, you know um and really
trying to understand what's going on. Know the different world leaders in asean itself is a
very interesting experiment and it's a microscope uh of of different government uh
governance structures. As amanda said, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. Vietnam is a
communist country. Um you Have uh Indonesia, which is the largest democratic muslim
country, and you have all different types of Governments. 34:36 Government structures and
that in itself makes uh ourselves in itself so interesting because we are not natural um
partners. We all have to try to work very hard to be together. So a good place to start is, uh,
II used to be in those social studies. I also didn't think very much that we had to learn about
the Singapore history while we join asean. But in retrospect, uh it had helped me to
understand today all these and our history. Cinema's history is very important in this
context because we are after Only going to be sixty one years old this year and that makes
Sense. 35:21 Very young countries trying to survive in a country that's so big. For example,
like France is celebrating one hundred and seventy years of diplomatic relations with
Thailand, and they can tell you that they know kind of their countries have been um
acquainted for two hundred years, but the us is celebrating two hundred and fifty years this
year. So amongst all these, uh we are still very young, we're still trying to find our footing.
So it's good to understand where we come from. And if you are in this Line, everybody will
ask us, um what is Singapore's Perspective? 36:04 Why do we do certain things, why are
you making this kind of the decisions? So it's not about being very good in certain topics but
actually really understanding why certain decisions were undertaken by the government
and what uh we have done all these years to become a country that even at the UN we are
actually heard. So Singapore has a lot of achievements at the UN despite our size, right? We
actually let the uh successful negotiation of atmos, which is the law of the embassy, in recent
years we have also Met the negotiations for biodiversity without national ABuds. 36:51 So
these are very big achievements for very small country like ours. You should pursue
something you actually have interest in uh when you study because I know the fact that I
really hated DOIng math and and I really enjoy um like current effects and you should find
something that, uh you will want to do for a long time. 37:33 Uh bringing it. Yeah I know
that there were some very strong disagreement between the island government and
Singapore government in terms of governments. 37:44 I think a large part of what the
western countries always talk about when they talk about us with us on government is like,
for example, things like death penalty, right? Because for the western countries they are
often, uh they take a very, very humanitarian approach when it comes to uh the treatment
of convicts in jail and you know sending them to to to get this is not something that they
pursue. So this has always been a huge uh issue of discussion when it comes to where we
are at the end. So that's Something that they look at us and they say, oh, why do you got
them when the time Fist? 38:27 Why is the death penalty hanging still something that
Singapore is so key to pursue after all these years? And it is our sovereign right to explain
that for us it is a um way of deterrence. And we in the same way, uh, we get some criticisms
for being extremely, uh, strict on, uh, drug use. Right. Even big, big is not allowed in
Singapore, you know even very little grams of wheat is something that's comfortable. So
these days we actively do have to explain to not just western countries, actually many,Many
countries, and over the years, the the UN is actually, um they do this human rights report
and we actually participate in it and we explain that for us what human rights actually mean
for Singapore. 39:24 And to us it means that safety, it means that prosperity for people,
equal rights, uh opportunities. So different countries do that. Say a very simple thing of
human rights very differently because the liberal west will say, yeah, you cannot send them,
sentence them to death, you cannot punish. So you should try to give them opportunities for
correction. So that's one big part that we often get criticisms from and of course, sometimes
they don't think that we are so liberal in that sense right? Uh. Another Big issue that
sometimes we get, uh, asked by foreign countries is our generally, uh, lgbtq Right? 40:15
These are things that, uh we will do at our own pace. I mean Singapore will do at our own
pace, but we do get asked uh once in a while and it's up to us to explain how we we deal
with it. And we have our own policies and our own um belief in how synonyms should be
done. 40:52 啊 so. 41:02 Operations look like as A. 41:11 So for this little team, um I give you
an example, right? it is the it is quite different every week because uh say when we are
leading up to the uh general election in China, which is took place in february, uh we
actually travel to the provinces to get our understanding and we engage the mp candidates,
we engage the different existing current uh politicians. So they could be very new or they
could have been politicians for thirty years. The the whole point of DOIng that is getting a
sense of where the Election is heading. So you try to know people from different segments
of thai Society. 41:55 It could be from government, it could be business, it could be from
academic politicians and even sometimes uh the military. So these are the key players in in
thai society and you want to have a good picture and sensing of where the election is going.
So a typical day, I mean, leading up to a big significant event, you try to have a lot of
meetings. You try to go out back up because back up is but just one large constituency,
right? Just they have thirty three but little little district [Link] by far it's also just
that and you know that the south behaves very differently, the north behaves differently
because it also could be strongholds of certain political Parties. 42:46 So wherever you are
as a diplomat, your basic job is to be, uh think of it as a reporter, but maybe with a little bit
more responsibility in the sense that you have to think of what you write in your report as a
policy making. So that's like just creating and getting firsthand data and understanding of
the domestic situation. But you also kind of need to know when you engage the other
foreign emphasis here because you need to know what Thailand is DOIng with China, what
Thailand is DOIng with the us, and So on and so Forth. 43:26 So you make friends with the
other diplomats here because they also they are DOIng things between their country and
Thailand and you need to know where we are if we have certain plans to do certain things.
And then, as amanda said, how do we find opportunities? Singapore is so small, so knowing
our weakness, for example, we are food scarce, we are very dependent on food uh
elsewhere. So Thailand is a very good place for us to start uh with think of securing food
because it's not so far away, although we Have the chicken from Brazil and you know beef
from Australia, but increasingly we are also trying to think about supply chain Incidents.
44:12 So that's like another part of our job. We were engaged like the ministry of commerce,
agriculture, so we know what they are ready to sell. That's another part of the job. So
amanda actually covers that the energy sector because we are also always looking for new
and renewable energy sources, social language, like the professors who who talk about
energy and I think PM just talked about uh us uh exploring the possibility of nuclear energy.
So that's also something that see another is looking into. She she Started in the expert, right?
But you have to be able to understand many things and engage on many Things. 45:00 And
so she will then look up for all these people and see where Thailand is. And why is it
important? Because it is in our neighborhood, if there's any fallout, you know it does have a
strong impact on us. So that's the day to day. You have just many, many meetings. And then
um some days we also do this. This is part of our public outreach. And it is important
because uh I think increasingly we want our singaporeans, um whether you know from
young, particularly, to really understand why foreign policy is And why actually what are
the firm minister loves to say firm policy starts at home because uh if you don't know what
uh Singapore is to do, it's very Difficult. 45:59 And we take a lot of the keys uh of what we
should do from a teaching. And they discussed with you know like train industry, they
discussed it and he paid me that. And as you know, and you may probably have a chance to
train sometime when you go to ms. Uh, container movie is where we have our training
camp, which is a very big component. So, uh, that's another area where we work closely and
I think you may have seen our defense is also just visited. So if you get the visit, we will
support the visit, we Will assist with the planning and we will also attend the Meetings.
46:47 So it's actually multifaceted. And as you can see, when suddenly you have a flood, you
have an earthquake, the entire and the embassy will uh drop what we are DOIng and we will
concentrate on just assisting. So we have what we call uh the crisis management center, the
cnc. it uh takes place when we have a crisis that is big enough and we need to be all hands
on deck and then pick up the folds and then um just try to do the extraction in particular. So
your job doesn't. This is not a fix, is an exciting job. 47:29 But sometimes you get two calls at
three years and like I said, you know you have no preparation for whatever it is happening.
But day to day is is not so tough. 47:49 Good afternoon. I have uh two questions. My first
question is, uh how do the Singapore uh ambassadors in uh Thailand like discuss with the
thai officials about uh topics that Singapore has a very strong stance like against all, like it's
like very controversial so controversial for Singapore, like for example, or drugs and sex
tourism. And my second question is, uh how how does like Singapore and Thailand discuss
the the diplomatic relations with other countries? Like for example, Thailand has
recognized Palestine since like twenty twelve and Singapore still has not like recognized
Palestine. 48:27 So on your first question on difficult topics. 48:33 It is a it is actually a form
of mutual respect. it's a case where like if you talk about cannabis because uh you know in
in Thailand it's actually sort of permitted you as you pass by, you see many shops, uh they
sell me and things like that. And we are very strict, but it is also a understanding that we tell
to the thai government that we don't allow our people to do, and you know that if the thai
people want to pass through our customs they will also be caught. So it is a very clear
understanding Where you have clear Jurisdiction. 49:15 We have our own uh laws and
processes and our own rules. And you are, I mean, governments are not expected to to tell
you what you can and cannot do. So the ambassador is asked, would just explain that well,
this is in a false position on it and it doesn't just apply to you drops or difficult um issues. it
could be even things that we disagree on. And it is true, like you said, you know the
Palestine issue has always been more sensitive for Singapore because we also have a large
new stream community. 49:55 I mean in reality Thailand, they always say they practice
bamboo diplomacy. They are very flexible. And you see in the way that they also deal with
the russians. I think since the Ukraine crisis they have actually been allowing the russians to
coming to Thailand despite a lot of sanctions that's going on. 50:23 So. 50:29 And these are
allowed to have different positions, 50:34 Different issues, and today you have, if you go to
school, is it okay? 50:42 You will see that the Phuket Airport has ceramic russian scenery
everywhere. 50:54 This is something that uh is very different. And the reality is that the EU
delegation that's based here is they don't like that. Thailand is so welcoming of of of Russia.
But what can they do? They cannot leave. They will just say that you know if uh that's
something that involves Russia, they will not get so for us in a similar way, whether a long
island recognizes Palestine has actually no bearing on civil course approach to foreign
policy because we have our own considerations. And the same thing. We Took a very strong
stance when the Ukraine crisis Happened. 51:40 So we don't make um foreign policy based
on what other people think of us or what we think that other people would think of us. But
what are our domestic considerations? Palestine has a very, it's difficult because we also
have AA strong relationship with Israel. We have a muslim community. it is not going to be
an easy issue for us in any way. And I think, uh minister shaloud has said it many times
before as well. And our foreign minister as well. So it doesn't matter what uh the type of
woman does, but What it matters is when we take a decision we should be able to explain
why we take ADecision. 52:32 And it comes from a place where what is our national
interest? So you don't make decisions because of what the the surrounding noise is about.
But what do we determine that is the best for Singapore? So in the same way, if they ask us
about drugs that we need, we will say that, well, we need to be very strict because we just
don't have the infrastructure of that home to allow this to to happen the same way that uh
uh domestic drug laws are very strong. 53:10 Do you have any key or special leadership
advice for inspiring me? 53:21 I think there are a few and I think that the first one is uh is
really passionate. So to be aspiring, you also need to actually like what you do. And I think it
shows when, uh, you actually enjoy the the the job. And it's very obvious when you see
people that they don't actually enjoy DOIng what they, they they do and then they go into
the office and every day is like just, oh, it's another day. And if you if you want to be, say, a
leader or just someone who inspires the team, especially in this area, you Do need to
personally just be passionate in the first Place. 54:11 And then you actually need to show
that you also can make the right decisions because it's a very messy uh place to be. And
when you're outside, hq will ask you, oh, how do you assess this? How do you read this
situation? But you you need to have a team and the team also vice versa, right? They look up
to you and together you will find a solution but on your own you you really need to be good
that what you're DOIng, then you also need to be a people person, you need to be able to
show everyone that you Care. 54:51 So I think passion and being, having access to care are
the two biggest things that you need, not just for this job, but I think even for your cca, right
you right. You need you need to be II always think that the the captain of a seventeen first
and for most is probably the top five players in in the team party. But he is also probably the
most, uh, people person in in the whole team because he needs to be empathetic to
everyone's needs and you need to understand what drives people, what's their Strengths
and weaknesses so that you can live rich on IT. 55:40 So if you aspire to be a leader in any
field, you first have to be good at DOIng it first and you need to be able to know everyone
and tap on that stress because even if you are good Ultra many, you cannot do everything on
your own because no one is is perfect that way. So you have to be able to be good enough
first and photos and then be able to to to the rich on everybody's skills to accomplish
something. And that's why you know you have to go to the flat. Why is it called obs? 56:22 Is
it out of bounds? Do you have to do out of bounds? Yes, it's basically that, right? There's
always someone that will have a brilliant idea of how to get out of the of a situation, 56:36
But you again, you cannot do it alone. 56:43 You ask that's in like uh institutions like for
example, there's like a protest going on in Bangkok and like there's a bunch of people
getting chased out, but there's not only the singaporeans inside the group, there's also like
chinese, Japanese. 57:03 Uh people, other nationalities. 57:07 I think in an emergency
generally we do if it's based on humanitarian because even within ask them, we have a
standing agreement that we will extend assistance of our ah some countries. So like during
the Hat Yai floods, that's one of the first things we do is to call the malaysian and the city
because they had four thousand people that distracted the hagen and they were actually you
know mobilizing. So they did help to uh put uh singaporeans or coaches, some of them
actually had to travel through Malaysia to Get back to Singapore. But that's an example of
what is actually Happening. 57:47 So in this types of crisis or distress, typically we do, um
and if we assist them usually we will then link them out of the embassies. So so out of
humanitarian, yes. 58:09 Work aside on the scent and stick format. That's also like
interesting stuff DOIng conflicts like cultural and state exchange on sharing. Of course, the
most far more cool are refreshing experience in this regard. 58:28 I put it on I think in in
Thailand, uh what is the authorization? I would say one of the most interesting celebrations.
58:51 The river and all that. And then um they take it very smoothly and they organize
these events and like watch our room, like the very famous temple. Um they do it at the
parliament as well and only they do it at the malls. I have the the first one, the question
member states to attend and join them in the celebration. it's usually a very big, um it's a
very large building. So I think there was one that kind of attended that this uh superstar
actress in Thailand yeah yeah. I don't know if you guys Know how she was performing
There. 59:27 So in the performances, they also tried to like reenact some of the uh like the
folk folklore uh. So it's it's quite an interesting way of learning more about Thailand but
then being that you're representing Singapore, um and you take part in you know sliding
the little the top down into the river, and then you see a thais DOIng that, DOIng that as well.
So I think to me that's quite one of the most interesting. I'm not sure this is the kind of thing
that you're asking about how to decide that's one of Them. And then there was another one
where Singapore, Thailand, Hunan, Malaysia, Indonesia, uh had a joint nomination uh for
this municipal intangible Heritage. 1:00:13 I cannot recall. The full name is a very long
name, but it's a kebaya. Um and all these five asean countries have, uh we had a kebaya as
part of our traditional costume, so we did a joint. Nomination. Um and it was a successful
one and the ties did a joint sort of like a joint celebration. Yeah. So they showcase different
types of kebaya uh from different parts of Thailand. But then they also brought some from
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and they did like a catwalk sort of staying. And then
They invited of course the asean member states and all That. 1:00:47 So there's these ways
of celebrating, um I guess the kind of distinct and unique um traditions or shed culture that
we have here. Uh and it's it can be quite fun. Some of the events that you attend, uh, I'm not
gonna lie. Sometimes it's quite fun to go there and be like, oh, so cool. You know like it's
really fun. Um but of course, um that's not your day to day. Uh it happens once a year for
example, the microphone day. Uh but that's just one of the examples of the kind of events
that we have to go there To represent uh the embassy because it will be quite jarring,Right?
1:01:26 It was a joint nomination that Singapore involved in and then no one from
Singapore and see was there. So the Singapore and the people officers actually were kebaya
to attend the the event just to also showcase that. Uh and then it's nice that this event, the
culture is done. We had a little chat and she was wearing the type about it as well. So these
are little things and little ways where I think we try to use this opportunity to uh kind of
connect with uh up on the past here. Yeah, I hope that this is Question. 1:02:06 啊 thank you.
1:02:21 谁是老大。 1:02:31 Uh. 1:02:31 So I'm actually relatively new in the office. Uh, before
this I was in. 1:02:39 And I was in consular directory, maybe a Singapore, it was easy. So
part of my day to day job is to receive calls from singaporeans in countries where we do not
have an embassy. And as you can imagine, being a small country, we don't have that many
embassies for the world. There will be singaporeans who are calling at maybe three AM.
Asking for help to return to Singapore. Because they need a DOI. But then the question
would be, why do you need to call me at three am for a DOI? Because I don't think you Can
catch a flight by the singer for a tree MEither. 1:03:20 Uh but I think the most. 1:03:24 This
stressful distressing. 1:03:30 The structural situation to be when you have to break the
news of that, the mix of kin in Singapore. So that's not something that the embassy would
do. If this if the mix of kings in Singapore, you would have to call it, you will have to verify
that they're DOIng something. And then you have doubting that their son, their doctor, their
husband's die. And as you can imagine, that is the one thing that I drive the most DOIng. Uh,
but at the same time it reminds me that I am DOIng a job that is very Meaningful and very
important because if you do not notify, this person has passed Away. 1:04:13 And then.
1:04:19 So if you really, really think about it, it is painful and distressful and stressing, but
there is meaning to one. 1:04:38 Most of the assets that you mentioned are usually like
crises that are mostly responsive from what I've heard. 1:04:47 Is happening and like, uh,
rescue efforts. And I want to ask like uh for prices like prices such as uh el nino that. 1:05:01
Um. 1:05:05 That should be happening on any like preventive manual. 1:05:14 I mean, if we
if we talk about everybody and you see like the straight times and all that, they write a lot
about rising temperatures in um, 1:05:32 But this is also not just Thailand, right? You know,
even like in countries like Japan or even in Europe, they have heat waves and all. So the
embassy cannot tell you to to business how to take care of yourself, right? So, you know, we
always said that even amount of colleagues, we can only say that, well, you know, you drink
more water, you put some blood. But why it? The the embassy is here because, uh, it has to
be responsive because we don't basically, um we don't go around telling our Singapore what
To do when we Travel. 1:06:15 It is preemptive if you know about it, there's a personal
responsibility to it. Right. But if we talk about it from in terms of reporting, what are the
minor effects then yes, it is something that we do because the amino, as you said, is affecting
how thai farmers are farming. it affects a food supply, and that's something we watch very
carefully because it does affect what we think about food security in the region. So that's a
wider um aspect to it, but it's not in terms of a personal care responsibility And Ultra Ultra
Ultra anything that hasn't happened yet, right for the for the course in the course they they
react to a problem,Right? 1:07:05 It could be an accident, it could be a death, it could be an
arrest. So actually what we hope most is that we never get a home, which means that
everyone is is happily you know, touring Thailand and they are safe and they they are safe
here and then they go home safely. 1:07:39 So when the crisis happens there is usually a
few uh things that we do, right? The first part is, uh, get in touch with singaporeans. So that
means that we check the E register who are the singaporeans that we know of that here we
also have what we call modern systems. So like, you know, um they these are long term
singaporeans that are they have been here, stay in Thailand for a long time. They have a
wide network of singaporeans that they want of, they are in contact with, then we also use
them to be, uh They are also based in different provinces in the Thailand that are typically
more populated with safe forest Cases. 1:08:25 China. So these are the first few things that
we do in terms of understanding the data. Next uh they usually will reach out to the uh to uh
the time uh tourist police because then they the tourist police here they do speak english. So
if they get any distress uh in phone calls or outreach from some farmers, they also relate to
us. Then we also reach out, for example, if it's in um Bangkok, we also reach out to the local
authorities, could be transport, could be the Bangkok Metropolitan London uh uh
Government to find out what is the Latest. 1:09:08 So it could be that the bts stop random.
So these are some of the things that say during the earthquake that we need to organize. Uh,
in our case, what is the so first is the safety of our own people working in the embassy. Next
is who are we reaching out? And then we will start to do, uh public homes, which we did
during the earthquake, during the Hat Yai floods Buds. We have a We, Whats App channel,
which we we we put up information and we also help singaporeans to actively reach out to
us. So we each Will then have a room like a who is taking care of the phones Right? 1:09:51
It it is the emergency headphone, it is the embassy. Uh phone number and who is emailing
us. So we will compile all the information attached onto the excel record and we will take
down things like information, right? Name, id number, phone number, you know and we
also try to get the information of the next option. They say, oh, because they save during the
Hat Yai floods class, a lot of them, uh they didn't have any places to charge their
headphones. So whenever they they switch it on they only could send one or Two text rack
and they usually send it to the Family. 1:10:32 Then the family in Singapore would reach out
to us. So we all play different roles and uh, we also have someone who will deal with the the
local police. Local could even involve the military in the case of the class because they need
to reach out to the uh we need to take on their resources. Then uh canon even went down to
to the uh hard and airport. So we actually will go down to the seen as well to uh render
assistance. So it depends. We will usually have a few touch points and we will reach out
quickly To get the information we Need. 1:11:13 And once we know that, oh, this is, say, the
gathering place, this is where you go for safety. We will post it and that's why we tell people
that um whatever the missing post actually comes. Uh is very fun and is is factual and we'll
usually book because we will have asked the right people already. So um we try to get ahead
of the curve by uh compounding the information from our known government sources here.
So that's one way of organizing a lot of information. 1:11:53 It's more largely like what we
go. 1:12:09 这是一个小关系之后。 1:12:21 我被吓到了。 1:12:29 I think coming from Singapore, I think
we kind of take for granted the political stability that we've had and that we have a civil
service that works rather well with each other. We keep each other in involved um or we
want to do things or why we don't want to do certain things with a certain country, for
example. Um that's not always that doesn't always exist um in other countries um and in
Thailand it's not, 1:12:58 Um, 1:13:02 It's not quite present. Uh so just talking about
political stability, I've been here for less than two years. Um and this is the second prime
minister that I've seen. 1:13:18 So in terms of cabinets, this is the fourth cabinet and I've
seen in two years. So when they're talking about negotiating or even discussing with them,
you know it doesn't even have to be something that is potentially controversial. it can be
something like signing a rest contingency agreement. You know you're talking about
covered credits when the minister keeps changing it's often quite difficult or when it's
completely when this party, that this political party that was leading this ministry, what
Happens when in the next we shall go? They're not in the government. Anymore and
another political party comes in and they can set their own Direction. 1:13:58 So that's the
difficulty that that comes with uh working with countries where there's not so much
political support. Um that's on the political level, I think for when and then when you come
to working with the bureaucracy, right, there's also another it's also there's also another
kind of difficulty because in in a society where I mean, like you are yeah in a society where
the positions change so often, a lot of times the bureaucrats might just be quite designed to
the fact that, okay, this new minister Comes in. He has this new idea, but like maybe he's
gone to six months and I don't really have to do this or they could disagree and they Don't.
1:14:43 They might not necessarily think that it is a good idea. So that's that kind of
differences in how you work with them or how even try to understand that that I think
that's the first difficulty that that you have. 1:14:58 And the next, of course, is I think the
actual negotiating it can come. it's not. I don't think that's the super happen, especially when
you're talking about issues that um both countries are like. So for example, Thailand, this is
a producer. We are important, we are here. Um it it makes sense. it's a very natural
partnership. So I think for us in Thailand, yes, we have a deal with political disability. I will
deal with working with a very, very important bureaucracy, but I must say that Thailand is
about Quite natural part. So we we are quite uh you know for example, like DOIng the whole
uh pino phone painting uh you know be the first in the World. 1:15:41 You know we have
two countries to do that together. You kind of have to see many things um I to like, and I
think that that's a good thing that we have with retirement. So in terms of challenges, I
would say it's more systemic here, um whether there are particular issues that might be
harder to discuss. For example, we want to import green energy, but their their local
legislation does not allow for third parties to buy or to sell energy. So these are just sort of
the things that uh you know you would have To talk a bit longer about because the current
system doesn't allow for something that we want to do, but in principle they want to sell
and we want to Buy. 1:16:25 So I would say that we are quite natural partners, but there are
all these difficulties that comes. 1:16:36 So adding on to his question, may I know what level
of clearance do you have at the state meeting? 1:16:42 Oh, well, keep up your secret.
1:16:44 Ok then then. Uh. May I know if you can commit to a memorandum on behalf of
Singapore with the with your own authorization? 1:16:56 Uh if for if if if you talk about MO,
you know, because the mou is is by nature government to government for agency to agency.
So it needs to be signed. Uh at least that usually is, uh depends on the content. But it can be
like a director general to the director general uh on very technical. And but usually it has to
still be witnessed by somebody who is a minister, vice minister and above. So a lot of times I
think you have seen before like saying when we have our economic uh steer enhance
partnership,Uh the it could be signed technically by ministers that DR dan will witness or
something could be signed by DR dan and witness by PM. 1:17:46 So it depends on the
occasion as well. And very typically we will uh arrange for animals to be signed as
deliverables when uh we have a visit. So say recently president dolan from Vietnam visited
Singapore. They also signed a series of their news which which is witness back here, but by
the different uh like the mti and so on and so forth. Right. And see for when uh briefly for
with China they signed like twenty seven memory last year. So it's always, uh, meant to be a
kind of a highlight of a political High level visit, this type of visits because it showcases uh
the areas of interests that both countries are uh DOIng. 1:18:37 So it is very clear, you know
like the same with with Thailand, we we signed the rights agreement you saw right? The
picture is is with the ministers. So it's, uh, it's by its nature cannot be just done like at our
level. But there's also occasionally, uh the ambassador is authorized by issue to sign. So
again, it depends on the the content and the level of what is it. 1:19:14 In your view, what
are some some of the most uh promising areas of distribution between Singapore and
Thailand in the companies? 1:19:27 In amanda talked about Prompt Pay, which is a digital
economy. Uh this is actually something not just with tech net but the mass faster we are
actively pursuing because we are all entering a new digital age. And there are many things
outside of prompting that you can actually do, which is, and you can have kind of an expand
it uh to making the things that even green family. So another big part that Singapore is
supposed to have mentioned that we always do things from national interest. So you would
have Noticed that we have a green plan in Singapore that we're trying to Achieve. 1:20:08
You know we have we have switched our access to evs, we are telling people to use evs. We
are actually, uh, DOIng a little bit more solar panels uh on our own. We are stepping on
recycling uh all these things and trying to use renewable energy. So we want to achieve
these things that cannot achieve it. So we have, this is another new frontier that we're trying
to work with Thailand. So as amanda has mentioned, things like, uh, how can we maybe
have renewable energy partnership with talent? How can we think More about carbon
credit Strategy? 1:20:47 So that also has in the digital aspect as well, because you talk about
pregnancy in very new areas and it could be, there are simple companies that are already in
Thailand that's helping Thailand to transition into uh green energy or more efficient
buildings, which Singapore is very good at. So like, uh, for example, they, uh, help to change
the airport systems to be more, uh, energy efficient or even simple things that, um, changing
the window panels or window panes into, uh, this thing, the cool thing,Right? These are
some of the things that is gonna come to me soon because when you actually talk about the
sunlight, you do cut down for a minute on the platform Usage. 1:21:34 So it might not seem
very you know grand scale, but actually these are the little things that even our companies
are pursuing and bigger things like how can you recycle batteries? Which is another area
that we want to look at because if you think about it through your evs, the batteries do have
a lifespan, even your cell phones, they want to take it out and reuse the rattles. But these
things are not. Maybe we don't have the factories, we don't have the space to do it on home.
So this actually lead to very Exciting things um that our companies which have the tech, but
maybe not the ability in terms of space, in terms of investments or even like getting that
much use back batteries to to do So. 1:22:30 These are some of the bigger scale and smaller
scale things. And as amanda talk quite a lot about is the food security part. Uh Thailand is
trying to basically export more food because they do have an abundance and it is uh they
have done studies and it has shown that uh compared to a lot of other things that they do.
The profit margin is is rather high in terms of food export. They are also uh great uh in
terms of raw materials, which they they do a lot. Not that we need that much rubber. But um
so you Have your sustainability, your DOIng, you have a digital economy, you have a food
security, these are things that I'm sure even at home you hear APM. 1:23:20 Talk a lot about
and there's a lot to do in the AI front uh startups. So that's something that we are also trying
to Encourage our companies to uh look into more. So when reading news, is there a way for
us to retain the most amount of information while remembering everything? Because from
what you said earlier, you know it feels like you can read one time and remember
everything and when someone asks you, you can recite everything out. ● Speaker 1 01:12 If
I know that I'm going wrong. So it's there's general reading and there's like muggy reading,
right? So for example, like when I went to meet the new player, before I was meeting
nuclear scientists, I was like, I am not a nuclear person, right? So like I just smart la. Like you
know I have to read on like what's our energy, for example? Like what's our energy mix?
Where do we get energy from? What's our approach to the crisis right now? Are we DOIng
anything on nuclear? What is what? Are our what our Goal? Where are we at Now? ●
Speaker 1 01:43 How many opportunities do we have? Like that kind of things? So but that's
a very different kind of thing. it's a very targeted approach because I know that I'm going
there to talk about this thing in particular. But of course, in order for you to read all of that,
you have no, you do think through like what you want to say or you have to think through
what you want to ask because if you ask them about something, be prepared and they're
gonna ask you about something, you know what I mean? So you need to Kind of like sit
down and think of like how the meeting is gonna go or how you want the meeting to go,
what you want out of it and then you prep according to That. ● Speaker 1 02:15 But I mean,
I think this helps with like your studies to solana, like right. Your essays and whatnot. So
that's what I do for a very like target approach. Then the the regular one is like you need to
try to force yourself to remember a few things that like for example, like what are some of
the pet policies um that ● Speaker 2 02:31 Singapore has people ● Speaker 1 02:33 Like
talk about, um for example, like people like to when you talk about Singapore htv is one
thing. Uh ● Speaker 2 02:40 When they talk about ● Speaker 1 02:41 Like uh like the for
example, the rachel futa http, that's one thing. So you do think of examples, right? Like
Thailand, Singapore, pain out from pay is one example. Our stock market, our stock
exchanges are linked as well. So like you need to kind of think of like, okay, like if I want to
profile this thing in my conversations with a thai person, what should I talk about? Yeah. So
it's really always thinking of like what you want to get out. What do you want the person to
go away with? And you try to zoom In to Those, ● Speaker 2 03:10 I guess. Yeah.