Diplomatic relations between Egypt and Singapore were established on November 22, 1966, as Egypt was among the first countries to recognize the independence of Singapore.
Cairo and Singapore enjoy distinguished political ties and share the same views on many international issues. The ties between both countries have witnessed a qualitative leap since President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi assumed office.
Next November 2021, will mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Egypt and Singapore.
On this occasion, “SEE” managed to conduct an exclusive interview with Singapore Ambassador to Egypt Dominic Goh.
Here is the full extract of the interview:
1-How could Your Excellency evaluate the level of bilateral ties between both countries…and will their relationship witness a boom during the coming period?
The relationship between both countries is very deep and excellent. On the political level, Egypt is among the first countries to recognize Singapore’s independence.
The mutual visits between the leaders of both countries; President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to Singapore in 2015, and the Singaporean President’s visit to Cairo in 2016 gave huge momentum to the relationship between the two states.
There is regular contact between the ministries of both countries. Amid COVID-19 fears, the mutual visit between ministers becomes difficult, but when the situation becomes more stable, these visits will be restored again.
2-What are the potential areas of Economic cooperation between the two countries, especially since Egypt is looking forward to benefiting from Singapore’s developmental experience?
Singapore and Egypt are enjoying a very good economic relation, which is improving over time.
Singapore is already the 4th largest economic investor in Egypt, following China, Malaysia, and India. Singapore’s investments in Egypt reach $ 1 billion, and trade volume hits $ 600 million every year, more than that of South Korea, and Japan.
The Singaporean investments focus on the logistic, and Information Technology (IT) sectors.
Singaporean companies are interested in Egypt, because of its strategic location in the Middle East, and Africa.
Moreover, Suez Canal represents a great opportunity for Singapore to invest in Egypt.
Concerning the potential areas of cooperation between both countries, the African-Singaporean Business forum will be organized this month via video conference.
The virtual event will be attended by a number of Egyptian businessmen, and Egypt’s General Investment Authority, as well as representatives from various African countries.
It will be a great opportunity for Egyptian Businessmen to give a brief about the available investment opportunities in Egypt.
3-Did you notice Cairo’s interest in transferring Singaporean experience in various fields?
When Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited Singapore, he expressed interest to exchange experiences in the fields of port management and Information Technology (IT).
Two weeks ago, an agreement was signed between Egypt’s ministry of communications and Singapore's artificial intelligence foundation to cooperate more and develop some training programs for Egypt.
4-How could Singapore benefit from Egypt’s position as an entry point for Africa to enhance its investments and is there any intention to work in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone)?
Our companies are exploring investment opportunities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).
Because of Suez Canal strategic position, our ports and logistics firms are interested to have a presence there. In fact, Singapore has a large shipping company with a logistics warehouse in the 10th of Ramadan city.
Moreover, our country has a facility in Sokhna port which receives one or two ships from Singapore every week.
In addition, Singapore has food processing companies, which are benefiting from Egypt's location to manufacture for African countries.
I hope more Singaporean companies to make good use of available opportunities and come to Egypt to invest and to do business in many sectors like agriculture and manufacturing.
In return, I also hope Egyptian companies to boost their investments in Singapore, and make good use of it as a base to penetrate the Asian market, as it enjoys many promising business opportunities.
5-There are many Singaporeans studying at Al-Azhar, and Al-Azhar Grand Imam made a successful visit to Singapore recently. How does Singapore see this aspect of bilateral relationship?
This is a very significant part of the relationship between both countries. In fact, since the 1960s, Our Muslim community in Singapore has been sending students to Al-Azhar to be trained with prominent teachers.
Al-Azhar is one of the best universities in the Islamic world and also it has a very moderate, and tolerant kind of teaching.
Moreover, Singaporean students express great happiness to study at such a reputable Islamic institution.
I visited Al-Azhar university before and met Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, as well as a number of lecturers. They expressed their admiration for the Singaporean students’ seriousness in studying.
6-What is your viewpoint towards the state’s intention to expand Suez Canal’s southern corridor so that the “Ever Given” ship crisis is not repeated again?
It is a very good idea, that should be done. Because of the “Ever Given” ship crisis, the global logistics were interrupted for few weeks, so Egypt has to try to prevent this incident from being repeated.
7-Egypt is paying great attention to the future of cooperation with Singapore in the field of water desalination and management… Have any actual steps been taken in this field since the Egyptian minister of Irrigation’s visit in 2019?
This is a significant area of cooperation between Egypt and Singapore.
Egypt has a great population, so water desalination is very crucial to it because the Nile can not provide enough water for its population.
I have met the Egyptian minister of irrigation, and he told me that Egypt is planning many projects in this field, so we hope Singaporean companies to be part of these ongoing projects.
Currently, discussions are underway between Singaporean, and Egyptian companies on these desalination projects, but no actual steps have been taken so far because they are very competitive and complex projects which need huge finance.
8-Are Singaporean officials set to visit Egypt after the end of the Coronavirus Pandemic?
Yes, definitely, when the coronavirus situation improves, we hope to have a number of official visits in Egypt.
The embassy is always pushing for such visits.
9-What is the current situation in Singapore regarding Coronavirus Pandemic?
The situation in Singapore is improving, and about 60% of our population has received the Coronavirus vaccine.
Once we reach 70% vaccination by the end of this month, the government will relax coronavirus measures across the country.
10-Are there any cooperation between Cairo and Singapore to face the COVID-19 pandemic?
Unfortunately, there is no cooperation between both countries regarding this issue.
11-How long have your Excellency been in Egypt, and what are your favorite Egyptian dishes?
I have been here in Egypt for two years, actually 6 months, before the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world.
I enjoy very much my stay in Egypt, as it has rich history of culture and great ancient civilization which is very interesting.
Moreover, I and my wife enjoy our Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, which houses many remarkable ancient sites.
I like very much Middle Eastern Cuisine, especially Egyptian dishes, like “Fool and falafel” sandwiches, “Shish Tawook”, and “Kofta”. They are very tasty.
12-If you like to send a message to the Egyptians and Singaporean community here in Egypt via our website, what will it be?
I would like to say that Singapore is a good friend of Egypt, and we hope that when the coronavirus situation improves, we can re-develop our bilateral relations again towards more cooperation in the future.
13-Could you give us a quick review about Singaporean tourism in Egypt?
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Singaporian tourism to Egypt was improving; many tourist groups from Singapore arrived in Egypt during 2019 and 2020.
But amid COVID-19 concerns, everything stopped, and it has become very difficult for Singaporeans to travel anywhere because when they return back home they have to enter quarantine for 14 days.
Hopefully, when the government starts to relax coronavirus measures and all people are vaccinated, Singaporean tourists will flock to Egypt again to enjoy all exciting and wonderful ancient destinations.
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