Promoting cultural exchanges

Your Excellency, Vladimir Medinsky, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation,

Your Excellency, Bosengkham Vongdara, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism of Lao People's Democratic Republic, co-chair of the meeting,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Good morning. I am happy to be in Russia and the beautiful city of Sochi.

2. I am delighted to be able to be here at this meeting to discuss ways to bring our people closer together through the common language of culture. Culture is an important part of our lives. It is what makes us who we are, and it has the power to bridge differences and communities. In multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore, embracing cultural diversity is a way of life. Even as each community in Singapore has the space to practise their own beliefs, we all recognise too the need to find and build up a common space we can share. It is a work-in-progress, as our society evolves.

3. Like Singapore, ASEAN, is not homogenous. We are a region, made up of many different communities, religions, cultures. This is why cross-cultural understanding is so critical in bringing our ASEAN community closer together, and in bringing us closer to Russia and the rest of the world. Through cultural exchanges and understanding, we learn to value one another's cultures, celebrate our diversity, and be greater than the sum of all our parts. And this is why we are having this dialogue today.

4. Although ASEAN-Russia ties found its roots in security and economic interests, we have developed our cultural links, which has strengthened the ASEAN-Russia relationship.

5. In 2010, we took steps towards strengthening our people-to-people ties. We signed the ASEAN-Russia Agreement on Cultural Cooperation which paved the way for cultural exchanges between many of our countries. We found ways to make music together. The ASEAN-Russia Youth Symphony Orchestra was formed in 2011, comprising musical talent from all across the ASEAN-Russia community. This is a wonderful collaboration which has since staged several memorable performances across our regions like Bali, Phnom Penh and Bandar Seri Begawan.

6. We will continue to strengthen ASEAN-Russia cultural relations by having more of such collaborations. And Singapore stands ready to do our part, committed in promoting our diverse Southeast Asian culture. For example, the Singapore Art Museum's mandate is to present the contemporary art in Southeast Asia to the world. And it will do just that at the Singapore Biennale in October this year. And just late last year, the National Gallery Singapore opened its doors, showcasing the world's largest collection of modern Southeast Asian visual arts. The Gallery is currently staging its first international co-curated exhibition titled Reframing Modernism. The exhibition juxtaposes work from Southeast Asian masters such as Cheong Soo Pieng from Singapore, Le Pho from Vietnam and HR Ocampo from The Philippines, alongside the work of European masters, including renowned Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky. This exhibition would have not been possible, if it were not for the support from our friends from around the world. 

7. The presence of Russian artists in Singapore and our ASEAN region is not new. Singapore and Russia have always enjoyed good cultural relations.

8. In fact, Russian artists have been coming to Singapore from almost a century ago. In the 1920s, Russian musicians travelled across the Southeast Asian region and performed in places such as the Singapore Raffles Hotel.

9. So Russian musicians have long worked hand-in-hand with musicians from Singapore. We have had a few Russian musicians in our Singapore Symphony Orchestra for more than two decades and counting. We also have many Russians in Singapore who have taken music students under their wings, instilling discipline and strong musical foundations in the Singapore students they teach. Russian music instructors also teach at our Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

10. And in the spirit of cultural exchanges, more and more Singapore artists are sharing with the world the arts and heritage from Singapore and the ASEAN region, including right here in Russia.

11. NADI Singapura, a traditional Malay percussion ensemble, will be sharing their music with you at the inaugural Festival of ASEAN-Russia Cultures, and I hope you will enjoy their very lively performance. We will also be showcasing artefacts from our rich Peranakan culture at the Ethnographic Fair. And just last year, Singaporean multi-disciplinary artist Sarah Choo Jing won two awards at the 2015 Moscow International Foto Awards exhibition. Another Singaporean artist, Daniel Kok, also presented his work at Platforma Moscow.

12. I am pleased to announce that we will be signing a Singapore-Russia cultural Memorandum of Understanding later today, which will be witnessed by the Prime Ministers of both our countries. Through this MoU, we hope to strengthen cultural relations with Russia, which may also see more Russian arts and culture programmes in our ASEAN region.

13. I look forward to greater collaboration and cooperation between Singapore, ASEAN and Russia, to the benefit of our cultures.