The Filipino community has made significant contributions to Singapore’s development and the 2 countries enjoy excellent bilateral relations, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Wednesday (Nov 27).
He was speaking on the opening of the Philippine Eagle Exhibition at Jurong Bird Park to mark the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the Philippines.
“We have a thriving Filipino community that has contributed enormously to Singapore’s development and to our social and cultural diversity,” Dr Balakrishnan said.
Summarizing the last 50 years, he said the 2 countries cooperate in wide-ranging areas, reminiscent of “robust and growing” economic cooperation.
He noted that Singapore was the Philippines’ principal trading partner within the Asia-Africa region last 12 months, in addition to its second-largest foreign investor after China.
“We are pleased that our companies want to do even more in the Philippines and explore new areas of cooperation, including agri-food trade and smart city initiatives,” said Dr. Balakrishnan, who can also be the minister accountable for the Smart Nation Initiative.
He added that strong people-to-people ties are one other symbol of Singapore-Philippines friendship.
Ricardo L. Calderon, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines, said in his speech that over the past 50 years, Singapore and the Philippines have made great progress by cooperating in areas reminiscent of education, cultural exchanges, health, labor, trade and science and technology, in addition to their Asian neighbors.
He added that President Halimah Yacob’s September state visit to the Philippines “confirmed the ties between” the 2 countries.
“We are also grateful to our partners and look forward to another 50 years of bilateral relations between our two countries. With the help of our Asian neighbors, the long-term benefits of conservation efforts and sustainable management of our natural resources are not far away,” Calderon said.
At the opening of The King’s Fiesta Philippine eagle exhibition on Wednesday, Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore had signed an agreement with the Philippines to produce a pair of eagles in May.
The Philippine eagle, called the King Bird or Haring Ibon in Tagalog on account of its enormous wingspan of two m, is the national bird of the Philippines. It is taken into account critically endangered, with only about 400 pairs left within the wild.
The two eagles – 15-year-old Geothermica and 17-year-old Sambisig – are the primary breeding pair to form outside their home country, said Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which manages Jurong Bird Park. Any future offspring might be returned to the Philippines.
The birds were loaned to Singapore as a part of a 10-year conservation breeding plan with renewable sources. The couple has been here since June.
“This is another great opportunity to promote environmental protection and biodiversity. It will raise awareness about the threats these endangered birds face in the wild,” Dr Balakrishnan said.
Mike Barclay, group chief executive of Mandai Park Holdings, which owns WRS, said the eagles are closely monitored by their keepers and the bird care team to extend their probabilities of breeding successfully.
Source : Times of the Strait
