On 20 November Ambassador Arken Arystanov called on Ms Indranee Thurai Rajah, Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Education of Singapore.
During the meeting, the parties discussed a number of specific projects, confirming the high potential for cooperation in the financial, investment and educational fields.
The Ambassador presented the main provisions of the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Address to the Nation of 2 September 2019, briefed on the process of economic and political transformations in Kazakhstan, the implementation of reforms in social sphere, in education, as well as on the country's international initiatives to ensure stability in the Central Asian region.
The Minister noted the growing interest to Kazakhstan, mentioned the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nur-Sultan next year.
Ambassador Arystanov passed the list of projects and ideas formed by research and development teams in Kazakhstan for consideration by Singaporean side noting that Singapore is well known around the world for its leadership in the field of high technologies and innovation.
Kazakhstan has a wide network of modern research institutions making R&D in the field of production of new materials, metallurgy, geology, chemical and food industries, construction, agriculture, medicine, space and information technology. Kazakh scientists are ready and open to cooperation with foreign partners. In this regard, the experience of Singapore in commercialization of prospective ideas could be applied for innovations of Kazakhstani scientists. It could lead to starting a number of new joint projects.
The Minister advised to work closer with the Intellectual Property Office in the field of scientific and technical cooperation, as IPOS is not only a copyright registrar, but also provides expertise in innovative projects, consults companies and inventors in making investment proposals, and helps in finding finance for R&D.
Education is another area of mutual focus. Singapore has positive experience of implementing structural reforms in this sphere that brought the status of teachers and their income have become one of the highest in the world. These transformations were carried out in several stages, starting from the 80s of the last century. Ms Indranee Rajah expressed the willingness to share experiences, adding that new programs that are currently being implemented in kindergartens in Singapore and aimed at creating a socially fair society since pre-school education can also be of high interest to Kazakhstan.
