BY THE INVITATION OF PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN, LEE KUAN YEW, MINISTER MENTOR OF SINGAPORE, HAS ARRIVED TO ARMENIA ON OFFICIAL VISIT
President.am
Sept 21 2009
Armenia
By the invitation of President Serzh Sargsyan, Lee Kuan Yew, Minister
Mentor of Singapore, has arrived to Armenia on official visit. He was
Singapore’s first Prime Minister and headed the executive branch of
his country for 31 years. Lee Kuan Yew is well known as the founder
of the Singaporean model of economic development. Today the Minister
of Mentor of Singapore was received by the President of Armenia.
Welcoming the high guest, President Sargsyan said, "You can hardly
find anyone, who wouldn’t admire the Singapore miracle and everyone
realizes that you, being the first Prime Minister of your country,
are the creator and administrator of that phenomenon. And, of course,
that example is very desirable for small states."
The President of Armenia expressed confidence that the visit
of Lee Kuan Yew would give a new impetus to the historical
Armenian-Singaporean relations and said that he signed a decree to
award Mr. Lee Kuan Yew with the Order of Honor for his activities
directed at the establishment and deepening of bilateral cooperation.
Receiving the award with gratitude, the Minister Mentor of Singapore
said that he was happy for the opportunity to visit Armenia. He
said also that even though the number of Armenians in Singapore
is not large, they have played a significant role in the country’s
development. He added that an Armenian church was located in the one
of the most prominent places in town.
The President of Armenia and Minister Mentor of Singapore exchanged
views on the Singaporean model of development and discussed the
possibility of conducting consultations regarding the experience. Lee
Kuan Yew said that their experience shows that in the base of efficient
development lies high quality education for which all necessary
conditions should be created, providing the young people with the
opportunity to study abroad. President Sargsyan said that toward
that end serious steps have already been taken in Armenia: through
the state financial support this year, for the first time a group of
students will study in the leading educational institutions abroad.
The President of Armenia inquired also about the Singaporean experience
in establishing civil service, noting that Armenia was intending
to conduct large scale reforms in that area as well. It was decided
that a group of specialists would go to Singapore for retraining and
learning about the experience first hand.