Jamus Lim and Fellow WP MPs Discuss Strengthening Ties with Australia’s Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister

Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim shared a photo from an Oct 17 meeting with Australia’s Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Watts, alongside fellow WP MPs Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) and Dennis Tan (Hougang SMC), as well as other parliamentarians. The informal discussion, hosted by the Australian High Commission in Singapore, revolved around strengthening ties between the two nations.

Assoc Prof Lim (Sengkang GRC) wrote in an Oct 18 Facebook post, “We were able to share candid thoughts on how such ties may be strengthened.”

“On my part, I shared my belief that Australia would have to strike its own balance between embedding itself deeper into Southeast Asia—the region that is its closest neighborhood—and retaining its Western, liberal identity, which is an indelible part of its heritage and (in a number of quarters) its appeal. I also thought that it could continue to lean on some of its traditional strengths—in tertiary education ties, tourism, and sporting excellence—as exportable services that could diversify the economy’s growth engine for the future,” he added.

Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Watts also tweeted about the meeting of the Singapore-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group on Oct 18. “Australia and Singapore have a warm friendship, anchored in shared experiences. We share a long history – Australia was the second country to recognise Singapore when it became an independent nation in 1965. Now, our partnership is about facing the future together,” he wrote.

Mr Watts was also the keynote speaker at Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) 2022, held from Oct 18 to 20 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, during the session “Tackling the Ransomware Scourge: Global Cooperation for a Transboundary Issue.” He highlighted, “It’s in all of our interests that cyber threats like ransomware do not threaten the stability of the governments, economies, and societies of nations in our region.”

Additionally, Mr Watts met with Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo and Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling for discussions on advancing cyber and critical tech work between Australia and Singapore.

The visit wasn’t all business, however. Mr Watts took to Twitter to share his experience at one of Singapore’s hawker centres, where he enjoyed chicken rice and chilli crab, commenting, “A great way to end the day with the fantastic flavours of Singapore.”

/TISG