World Café Discussions To Boost Brunei-Singapore Ties
By Aemy Azlena

Bandar Seri Begawan - This year Brunei is hosting the 6th Second Echelon Brunei Darussalam and Singapore Senior Civil Servants Exchange Programme which started at the Rizqun International Hotel yesterday.

The programme was opened by Hj Mahmud Hj Mohd Daud, the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office, who is the lead delegate for Brunei.

In his welcoming speech, he said, "This highly successful exchange programme and visit indeed helped pave the way for further progress in our (Brunei-Singapore) relations, something which this year's programme will seek to build upon."

The Singapore delegation is led by Brigadier General (NS) Yap Ong Heng, the Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Law, who came with seven senior officials from various government ministries and departments in the Republic of Singapore.

The objectives of the programme are to enhance the networking between the two countries' civil services and the exchange of ideas and views among the local senior officers with their counterparts from Singapore.

The theme for the programme this year is `Caring and Efficient Government' and the issues to be covered by this theme includes; Ageing Population; Financial Security; Education and Training; Employment; and Healthcare and Housing.

According to Hj Mahmud Hj Mohd Daud, the topics were timely and appropriate because of the challenges faced on a daily basis and the high expectations of the people who are becoming more and more sophisticated.

"Human resource is a vital and important asset that has to be nurtured and managed properly regardless of whether the workforce consists of the young or the old."

As part of the programme, visits to government agencies are scheduled as well as discussions in the form of the World Cafe concept whereby the delegates are divided into small groups to discuss' the topics in an informal setting. The event is to last three days from December to 10-13, 2007.

It is Hj Mahmud's hope that the World Cafe concept will enhance interaction between the Singapore and Brunei delegates, thus resulting in deeper and stronger relations between the two civil services. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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