<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Pls tell me wtf is MM doing in Armenia</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"></TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>8:07 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right>(1 of 17) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"></TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>21291.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Bros and sis, Pls read thru this article and tell me what's the purpose of Lau CB going to Armenia?
What is the benefit to Singaporeans in this trip?
Who ought to be paying for this trip - Singapore or Armenia ?
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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Armenians keen on success path
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>MM relates Spore's experience in response to questions </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Leslie Koh
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
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Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew speaking with Armenian Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan yeatersay. At a dialouge, MM leer sne nas peronal experince znd views on achieving economic growht. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->YEREVAN (ARMENIA): Shortly after Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore in 1819, Armenian merchants made their way to its shores, seeing business opportunities at South-east Asia's newest port.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->Singapore's Armenian link
The woman who bred and lent her name to Singapore's national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim, was Armenian.
RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
LOCATION
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>They went on eventually to make significant contributions to the young city, setting up businesses, including the iconic Raffles Hotel, and adding to its economic, social and physical landscape.
Fast-forward to the present, the people of Armenia are once again seeing opportunities in Singapore, but of a different sort: They want to learn how it achieved its economic success, and how to apply it in their country.
Their interest was reflected in the range of questions directed at Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew yesterday.
The first Singapore leader to visit Armenia, MM Lee arrived in the capital Yerevan this week on the second leg of a three-country visit. He started off in Britain on Sept 13, flew here on Sept 17, and leaves for Russia today.
The Armenian media have credited the Minister Mentor for Singapore's economic miracle.
At yesterday's meetings with the country's leaders and businessmen, the question of how Singapore had achieved its strong economic growth came up repeatedly.
'What are the key economic, political and social fundamentals, as well as cultural driving forces, that Armenia needs to achieve similar success to that which East Asia has experienced?' asked one businessman.
'What is the role of the government in achieving progress? Should it just be setting policies, or taking an active role?' asked another.
They likely saw similarities between the two countries. Armenia, a landlocked country in Caucasus, has a small population of about three million.
MM Lee posed a question in reply. 'Where is your wider hinterland? Is it your neighbours? Is it the CIS states of the former Soviet Union? Or is it... Europe, America and other developed countries?'
'I would believe that your best growth prospects would come from leapfrogging the region... make your connections with Western Europe, America and I would say East Asia, because that is the growth region for the 21st century.'
China, he added, would be another prospect.
MM Lee also shared his views on Singapore's developmental experience with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, on whom he called yesterday morning.
After their discussion, which lasted for about an hour, he met in the afternoon, a group of about 50 businessmen as well as government officials from the Armenian National Competitiveness Council, a government-private sector initiative set up to speed up development in the country.
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan chaired the meeting.
For more than an hour, delegates listened keenly as MM Lee shared his personal experience and views on achieving economic growth.
They peppered him with questions ranging from fighting corruption to managing relations with neighbouring countries.
MM Lee also gave suggestions on preparing the ground for growth, by educating people to relate to their target markets, wiring up the country to allow more people to go online, and making English a common language.
Most people in Armenia speak their native tongue and Russian.
'Singapore's greatest competitive advantage against its neighbours is that we have English as our working language,' MM Lee said.
'We have an enormous advantage because when all the MNCs, the banks, everybody comes in, we speak English. Our workforce speaks English, our taxi drivers speak English.'
Even the Chinese, he observed, were going all out to learn English.
The estimated eight to 10 million Armenians abroad, he suggested too, could help the country build up useful networks.
Said Mr Lee: 'You're known, you've got a diaspora which is much respected.'
[email protected]
</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
What is the benefit to Singaporeans in this trip?
Who ought to be paying for this trip - Singapore or Armenia ?
__________________________________________________________________
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Armenians keen on success path
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>MM relates Spore's experience in response to questions </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Leslie Koh
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew speaking with Armenian Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan yeatersay. At a dialouge, MM leer sne nas peronal experince znd views on achieving economic growht. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->YEREVAN (ARMENIA): Shortly after Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore in 1819, Armenian merchants made their way to its shores, seeing business opportunities at South-east Asia's newest port.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->Singapore's Armenian link
The woman who bred and lent her name to Singapore's national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim, was Armenian.
RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>They went on eventually to make significant contributions to the young city, setting up businesses, including the iconic Raffles Hotel, and adding to its economic, social and physical landscape.
Fast-forward to the present, the people of Armenia are once again seeing opportunities in Singapore, but of a different sort: They want to learn how it achieved its economic success, and how to apply it in their country.
Their interest was reflected in the range of questions directed at Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew yesterday.
The first Singapore leader to visit Armenia, MM Lee arrived in the capital Yerevan this week on the second leg of a three-country visit. He started off in Britain on Sept 13, flew here on Sept 17, and leaves for Russia today.
The Armenian media have credited the Minister Mentor for Singapore's economic miracle.
At yesterday's meetings with the country's leaders and businessmen, the question of how Singapore had achieved its strong economic growth came up repeatedly.
'What are the key economic, political and social fundamentals, as well as cultural driving forces, that Armenia needs to achieve similar success to that which East Asia has experienced?' asked one businessman.
'What is the role of the government in achieving progress? Should it just be setting policies, or taking an active role?' asked another.
They likely saw similarities between the two countries. Armenia, a landlocked country in Caucasus, has a small population of about three million.
MM Lee posed a question in reply. 'Where is your wider hinterland? Is it your neighbours? Is it the CIS states of the former Soviet Union? Or is it... Europe, America and other developed countries?'
'I would believe that your best growth prospects would come from leapfrogging the region... make your connections with Western Europe, America and I would say East Asia, because that is the growth region for the 21st century.'
China, he added, would be another prospect.
MM Lee also shared his views on Singapore's developmental experience with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, on whom he called yesterday morning.
After their discussion, which lasted for about an hour, he met in the afternoon, a group of about 50 businessmen as well as government officials from the Armenian National Competitiveness Council, a government-private sector initiative set up to speed up development in the country.
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan chaired the meeting.
For more than an hour, delegates listened keenly as MM Lee shared his personal experience and views on achieving economic growth.
They peppered him with questions ranging from fighting corruption to managing relations with neighbouring countries.
MM Lee also gave suggestions on preparing the ground for growth, by educating people to relate to their target markets, wiring up the country to allow more people to go online, and making English a common language.
Most people in Armenia speak their native tongue and Russian.
'Singapore's greatest competitive advantage against its neighbours is that we have English as our working language,' MM Lee said.
'We have an enormous advantage because when all the MNCs, the banks, everybody comes in, we speak English. Our workforce speaks English, our taxi drivers speak English.'
Even the Chinese, he observed, were going all out to learn English.
The estimated eight to 10 million Armenians abroad, he suggested too, could help the country build up useful networks.
Said Mr Lee: 'You're known, you've got a diaspora which is much respected.'
[email protected]
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