Singapore - Shanmugam holds bilateral meetings in New York

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, who is in New York for the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), has held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines.

He met his counterparts from Liechtenstein, Seychelles, Slovakia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Jordan.

Mr Shanmugam also chaired the Global Governance Group's Fifth Ministerial Meeting in New York.

A statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said Liechtenstein and Singapore have affirmed the warm and friendly relations between the countries. Mr Shanmugam and Liechtenstein Foreign Minister Dr Aurelia Frick discussed the two countries' shared interests and common efforts in multilateral fora.

In his meeting with Seychelles Foreign Minister Jean Paul Adam, the ministers discussed cooperation in various areas, including promoting tourism and sharing of developmental experience.

With the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Miroslav Lajčák, the discussion focused on various areas of bilateral cooperation. Both ministers exchanged views on the common interests of and challenges facing small, open economies such as Singapore and Slovakia.

Mr Shanmugam and Ethiopian Foreign Minister Berhane Gebre-Christos affirmed the friendly bilateral relations and discussed prospects for strengthening linkages between the two countries.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni and Mr Shanmugam discussed how the two countries could further deepen cooperation in multilateral fora. The ministers also looked forward to the further growth of economic linkages between Singapore and Bangladesh.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Mr Shanmugam affirmed the close relations between Singapore and Jordan, and exchanged views on developments in the Middle East.

Mr Shanmugam also attended the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting with the President of the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly Vuc Jeremic and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

There was a good exchange of views on regional and international issues, and a review of ASEAN-UN cooperation. Both sides also looked forward to the 5th ASEAN-UN Summit to be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in November 2012.

- CNA/al

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