YSA Annual Report 2018
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<strong>YSA</strong><br />
ANNUAL REPORT<br />
<strong>2018</strong><br />
22<br />
Ninth Khwaish<br />
Lecture<br />
On ‘The Foundation of<br />
Singapore’s Foreign Policy’<br />
<strong>YSA</strong> held its Ninth Khwaish Lecture on ‘The<br />
Foundation of Singapore’s Foreign Policy’ on<br />
21 July <strong>2018</strong>. The guest speaker was Bilahari<br />
Kausikan, Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry<br />
of Foreign Affairs, Singapore. This event was<br />
attended by more than 150 participants of<br />
various ethnic backgrounds and ages.<br />
During the event, the retired diplomat shared<br />
his experiences and insights into Singapore’s<br />
distinctive features as a new and small state in<br />
a turbulent global and regional environment.<br />
Mr Kausikan began his lecture by explaining<br />
the root of foreign policies and clarifying the<br />
meaning of friendly relations among countries<br />
“The idea of friendship between countries is<br />
very fundamentally different (compared to the<br />
idea of friendships between people). When<br />
a country says we have friendly relations, it<br />
means that our national interests are aligned.<br />
This concept of interest is the most fundamental<br />
concept of all foreign policies and relations”,<br />
he stated.
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