Over the past decade, human trafficking has become a growing concern in South-East Asia. It has been estimated that 200-400,000 men, women and children from the region are trafficked annually and exploited as forced or bonded labour in factories, streets and brothels. As governments in...
In the wake of record levels of haze, environment ministers from Malaysia and Singapore will be meeting their Indonesian counterpart as soon as July 17 for the Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC). This follows the apology graciously given by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and — more importantly...
The Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), the Singapore Red Cross Society (SRCS) and Temasek Foundation (TF) officially launched the International Involvement Hub (I2Hub) on Thursday, 27 June 2013, at the [email protected], with Mr Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister, gracing the...
This roundtable jointly organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Temasek Foundation, Singapore International Foundation and Singapore Red Cross aims to discuss our role in the region, and how we can best contribute to communities and causes beyond Singapore. What can we as individuals...
The haze in Singapore is at a historic level, exceeding the worst seen back in 1997-98, and blankets the global city in a rancid shroud of grey. Neither is Malaysia spared; several parts of the Peninsula register unhealthy pollution readings. Reports again point to land and...
In a world where Europe and the United States are struggling, both East Asia and Latin America are outperforming the pack, even if they, too, face challenges. And yet, more than 12 years since it started, the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) has not...
At their California summit, President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama discussed a long list of disputes, from trade to climate change and cyberhacking. Both were anxious to get along and there will be only small steps forward. The key point to come...
Myanmar’s transformation is underway at remarkable speed, but reforms are far from complete. With the country in the process of transition, there is a great deal of uncertainty around Myanmar's future development, including its foreign relations. The military has introduced and continues to drive the...
The World Economic Forum convenes in Myanmar this week, it will bring more than just another 1,000 visitors to the once closed and near pariah country. First visits by then US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Barack Obama brought headline attention. Early...
The tangled web of international organizations that constitutes global governance has become so remote and ineffective that few count on it to deliver results anymore. Now, after decades of turf wars and self-marginalization, international organizations must rally around an increasingly pressing global priority: sustainable urbanization. The...