As a small country, Singapore has to "take the world as it is" but at the same time protect the country's fundamental interests, especially in matters of safety, security, or its position in the world, PM Lee said to reporters on Monday as he approached the end of his week-long visit to Germany.
“We are under no illusions. T...his is a dangerous world, there are countries big and small – Singapore is small.
"And we have to take the world as it is, at the same time we have to protect our interests, and do the best for ourselves (as) we can in the world."
BEING AWARE OF THE REALITIES DOES NOT MEAN SURRENDERING OURSELVES TO OUR FATES
"I think these two are complementary, they are not contradictory, we have to be aware of the realities but that does not mean surrendering ourselves to our fates," he added.
ON THE ROLE OF A SMALL STATE
PM Lee said Singapore has a responsibility to highlight and deal with important issues which concern the country.
"I think if we don't stand up and be counted, you cannot lie low and hope that nobody will notice you. And I think that's how Singapore must conduct our foreign policy," he added.
PM Lee pointed to Singapore's inclusion in the G20 summit, representing the Global Governance Group (3G), an informal coalition of 30 small- and medium-sized countries.
Addressing world leaders last week, he made the case for multilateral trade and also urged governments to help their people embrace new technology.
“We got our point of view across, we explained what we had to say on trade, on digitalisation, on jobs," PM Lee said on Monday, adding that it has been a “good meeting” and a “productive visit" for Singapore.
“From the overall G20 point of view – it’s more difficult because the US view has become different from the other participants on trade as well as climate change, and the communique reflected this difference in views, and tension in positions of the different countries," he said.
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