Singapore - Countries need to adapt to hyper-connected environment: PM Lee

PERTH, Australia: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned that in today's globalised world, developments or shocks in one country or region will affect the rest of the world. He said it is clear that countries need to adapt to this new, hyper-connected environment.

Mr Lee, who is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, was speaking at a leaders' retreat on Saturday morning.

Commonwealth leaders held discussions on the report by the Eminent Persons Group - which among other things, recommends that Commonwealth nations adopt a charter, and appoint a Commissioner for Democracy, Rule of Law and Human Rights.

At the end of the second day of talks, leaders agreed to a charter which will set out the aspirations of the Commonwealth, but plans for a commissioner have been shelved.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said: "Amongst the concerns raised was the concern of a possible overlap between such a commissioner, and the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group and the Secretary-General. To address such concerns, the leaders agree the Secretary-General and the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group should further evaluate this proposal and report back."

Kamalesh Sharma, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, said: "Please do not forget, in the report of the Eminent Persons Group, it only says the creation of a commissioner, but it is entirely silent on what you might loosely call a job description and responsibilities. So all this work has to be done in a comprehensive and coherent way."

When discussions turned to sustainable development and small island states, Mr Lee outlined several challenges and also offered suggestions to tackle these issues. He said it is important to keep international trade open.

He added that while countries facing unemployment and political pressures will be tempted to take protectionist measures, he urged countries to resist the temptation of doing so.

Mr Lee said "the result will be tit-for-tat retaliation, and all will ultimately be left worse off, particularly people in developing countries and small states." He also said "countries should strengthen their fundamentals", such as having "prudent fiscal policies" and a "competent and honest civil service."

He said these fundamentals underpin well-functioning economies and just societies, and are matters that countries can work upon regardless of the external environment. Mr Lee said countries should also invest for the future, in infrastructure such as transportation networks and telecommunications links. This, he said, will boost long-term growth potential and position countries for global recovery.

Mr Lee also met Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett and discussed potential areas for closer economic cooperation.

-CNA/ac






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