SINGAPORE - Singapore is committed to supporting Palestinian human capital development through scholarships and training programmes, and welcomes more officials to attend such courses in the Republic.
President Halimah Yacob said this on Thursday when she met the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Dr Mohammad Shtayyeh, at the Istana.
Singapore enjoys good relations with the Palestinian Authority, and is happy to support its capacity-building efforts through the Enhanced Technical Assistance Package (ETAP), said President Halimah. ETAP, which was put together in 2013, gives Palestinian officials preferential placement in capacity-building programmes offered under the Singapore Cooperation Programme, postgraduate scholarships and customised study visits.
“(I’m) happy that more than 600 Palestinian officials have attended courses and training programmes in Singapore,” said President Halimah.
At their meeting, President Halimah and Prime Minister Shtayyeh reaffirmed the warm ties between Singapore and the Palestinian Authority, and exchanged views on developments in the Middle East, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement.
Dr Shtayyeh also called on and was hosted to lunch by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. PM Lee reiterated the Republic’s commitment in supporting Palestinian capacity-building efforts through the ETAP, adding that it is happy to share its experience in relevant areas of interest, said the ministry.
“PM Lee reiterated Singapore’s longstanding and principled support for a negotiated two-state solution consistent with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions that allows both Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace and security,” said MFA.
Both leaders also had a good exchange of views on regional and global developments.
In a Facebook post after their meeting, President Halimah noted that Dr Shtayyeh was particularly interested in learning from Singapore’s experience in vocational and skills training, and would be visiting the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) during his visit. “I welcome his interest as Singapore has invested much resources in human capital development,” she said.
Dr Shtayyeh is on a three-day visit to Singapore until Friday. This is the first visit to Singapore by a Palestinian prime minister.
Besides meeting leaders here and touring ITE College East, Dr Shtayyeh also visited the Newater Visitor Centre.
His visit comes a week after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman opened a new representative office in Ramallah to strengthen ties between Singapore and the Palestinian Authority.
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan had conveyed Singapore’s intention to set up this office during his visit to Ramallah in March. The office will facilitate closer coordination on the implementation of the $10 million ETAP for Palestinians.
