Diplomacy involves years of unglamorous work behind closed doors, before results can be seen: Vivian Balakrishnan at MFA 60th anniversary book launch

“Diplomacy is hard work,” and it often was “unglamorous and occurs behind the scenes in rooms with no windows", said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at the launch of “Not So Little Red Dot: 60 Years of Singapore’s Diplomacy” on Nov.19.

The book, which commemorates the 60th Anniversary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, collected several stories from the MFA’s six decades, from its founding location in a few “cramped rooms” in City Hall, to “pouring tea and coffee” for Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in 2018.

Uncertain and daunting future

Vivian spoke about the “uncertain and daunting future” that Singapore was born into in 1965, and by extension, the MFA.

Founding foreign minister S Rajaratnam exemplified Singapore’s founding fathers’ belief that Singapore had to reach out to the world to survive and thrive, making 12 international visits in Singapore’s first two months.

In the early days of the MFA, the conduct of foreign policy was “arranged from scratch on an ad-hoc basis”.

Ultimately survived

Future president of Singapore and Permanent Secretary of MFA S R Nathan said that the ministry had struggled “to learn about diplomacy through practical experience” but had ultimately “survived its mistakes and improvisations”.

Vivian paid tribute to early MFA officers’ “dedication, ingenuity, and unshakeable sense of mission”, setting the ministry’s foundations and establishing principles that continue to hold true to this day.

He recounted his own time in MFA, having completed a decade as its Minister just this year.

Vivian called it a “deep privilege” to work with the ministry’s staff, and “to advance Singapore’s foreign policy in turbulent and volatile times”.

Pouring tea and coffee

He also recounted the Summit between United States and North Korean Presidents Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in 2018, which was seen as a monumental meeting between two leaders of countries that were often at odds.

Singapore had not been involved in any negotiations, with then PM Lee Hsien Loong having joked that the country’s role had simply been to “pour tea and coffee”.

But even that simple role required much preparation and ingenuity on the part of many MFA officers.

“Diplomacy is hard work,” he said, and it often was “unglamorous and occurs behind the scenes in rooms with no windows".

“Often months and months and sometimes years and years in the making before anything emerges, before cameras start rolling and an event apparently unfolds seamlessly.”

Seven episodes in one book

Not So Little Red Dot is published by Nutgraf Books and was edited by Peh Shing Huei.

It spotlights seven episodes from MFA’s history, including the Trump-Kim Summit, the formation of Asean, as well as more contemporaneous events, such as Covid-era actions, and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Top image via Ministry of Foreign Affairs