1. Good morning to all of you, especially to Nadiem, who has made this trip all the way from Indonesia to join us. I would like to share three things with you this morning.
2. First, I'd like to build on what Nadiem has mentioned. Indonesia and Singapore can't be more different. Singapore has about 3.5 million people, and we are one tiny island. Indonesia has 270 million people and growing to 280 million. If you look at our history and the size of the islands, it is all very different. But therein lies the beauty, and the message is simple.
3. The competition is not between Singapore and Indonesia. In fact, we are so different that we can find many layers of complementarity. The real competition is how we, as ASEAN, can work together to compete with the rest of the world. I always say this - the first message is that the competition is never about within ASEAN, or between Indonesia and Singapore, or between Singapore and other countries. Our challenge and our potential is how Singapore, as part of ASEAN, can work with our ASEAN member states, to grow our capacities and capabilities so that we are competitive with the rest of the world. As Nadiem mentioned, it is going to be a turbulent world, but if we can get our act together, then we have a much better chance of not just surviving, but thriving.
4. And then comes the reason for this programme. When we develop in Singapore, we don't just want to develop ourselves or for our benefit; we want to develop with the region and the community.
5. I remember I came back to NTU to participate in one of NTU's homecoming events and they had proudly flashed a chart of where their illustrious alumni are. Amongst others, they flashed a map of China. In every Chinese province, there are alumni. And in almost every major province, there is an NTU alumni network, not just an alumnus. If we can do that with China, why can't we do that with Indonesia? Hence, my dream and aspiration one day would be for NTU to put up the map, and in every Indonesian province, we can similarly have an NTU alumni network.
6. You may think that 200 students is a stretch target, but let me put things in context. When I was in Indonesia, I gave myself one simple goal - that every day, I would make one Indonesian friend. Having been there for two years, I told myself that if you divide the size of Indonesia with Singapore, even if you make 100 friends in Indonesia, it is the equivalent of making one friend in Singapore because Indonesia is that big. Hence, if 200 students come here per year, it is equivalent to two students from Singapore. Thus, you can see the scale that we are talking about. Of course, we are not just talking about quantity, but we are talking about quality. We want the best and brightest in Indonesia and Singapore to come together, to grow up together, so that they establish the trust and we plant the seeds for the future of collaboration.
7. Today, why is it that Indonesia and Singapore can get so many things done? It's not just because of the complementarity. Many countries have similar complementarities, but it is the deep reservoir of goodwill and trust. As Nadiem said, he grew up in Singapore and he is a proud alumnus of Singapore. For me, I had the privilege to grow up in Indonesia. I spent two years in Indonesia but always had interactions with my Indonesians counterparts since the 1990s. My first time in Indonesia - I spent a month there. For me, the more I know about Indonesia, the more I feel I need to know as Indonesia is such a fascinating country that I hope many more Singaporeans will have a chance to go.
8. Hence, the first message is we complement each other, and the competition is out there. The second thing is that we really need to plant the seeds for the next generation. And today, coincidentally, you have an Indonesian Minister who is a Singapore alumni, and you have a Singapore Minister who is an Indonesian alumni, and I hope we will not be the last.
9. With that, here is the final message. We said we have great aspirations and inspiration, but it requires perspiration. It requires perspiration because things don't just happen naturally. It is incumbent upon both Indonesians and Singaporeans to work together to identify scholars and the programmes. Today, sustainability is just one of the main programmes that we have. I can think of many more to come. Clean energy, medicine that is customised to our Asian genomes, and many other things that we can do together. But this is where the perspiration comes in, because it requires us to work together, to identify the scholars, and areas to work together on. Then we'll be able to grow together, and we'll be able to plant the seeds, and truly say that we complement one another instead of competing with one another. Hence, on your shoulders rest our aspirations.
10. Thank you very much!