As a small country, Singapore will continue to play its part in assisting other countries in poverty eradication and furthering the agenda for sustainable development.

Last weekend, Foreign Minister K Shanmugam delivered Singapore's statement at the United Nations General Assembly 68th General Debate in New York.

Below is a summary of his speech:

1. Poverty Eradication: Societies and economies needed to re-think and re-tool their approaches, and place poverty eradication and sustainability at the centre of their developmental agenda.

2. UN's critical role in sustainable development: Only the UN, with its universal membership and access to global data, has the standing to establish a new global development agenda that is inclusive, effective and adaptable. The UN has adopted an inclusive and multi-stakeholder approach to gather the views of member states and harness the energy from civic society.

3. Singapore's approach towards development: The government focused on education and skills development as well as moving industries up the value chain towards higher-skilled, innovation-focused sectors. Singapore have managed to pursue growth whilst preserving a good living environment.

4. Sharing Singapore's developmental experience: Singapore established the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) in 1992 to share its developmental experience with other countries, as technical assistance and capacity building is more effective in creating the right conditions for growth. More than 80,000 government officials from 170 countries have received training under the SCP in diverse areas like sustainable urban development, water management and human resource development.

Top Photo from K Shanmugam Facebook.

Minister Shanmugam's full speech can be found on here.

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