Mr Jean-Francois Copé, Former Minister of Budget,
Your Excellency, Pierre Buhler, Ambassador of the French Embassy in Singapore,
Ms Lim Soo Hoon, Chairman of the National Library Board (NLB),
Dr Varaprasad, Chief Executive of NLB,
Ms Ngian Lek Choh, Deputy Chief Executive of NLB and Director, National Library,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to officiate the launch of the “French Corner” with Mr Copé this afternoon.
2 Singapore and France have enjoyed good bilateral relations for many years. Our political and economic ties remain strong. There is a strong contingent of French companies in Singapore. Our exports have grown and there has also been a good inflow of French investments to Singapore for the past few years in areas such as electronics, petrochemicals, biomedical sciences and digital media. We also cooperate closely in education, research and development, defence and security.
3 Singapore also enjoys warm cultural relations with France. This is set to further deepen with the exploration of more exchanges, particularly in visual arts and heritage. The National Museum of Singapore recently had the honour of presenting a successful exhibition of Greek Masterpieces from the Louvre from 9 December 2007 to 16 March 2008. This exhibition was presented in Southeast Asia for the first time, with some 130 pieces of marble sculptures, vases, terracotta figurines and gold jewellery from the 5th to 1st centuries BC on display.
4 Today’s launch of the French Corner is yet another milestone in our flourishing cultural relations. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong mooted the idea of a “French Corner” when he met former President Jacques Chirac during his visit to France in November 2005. This was later formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding between the French Embassy and our National Library Board.
5 Through the generosity of the French Government and the strong support of Mr Jean-Francois Copé during his time as the Former Minister of Budget, the requisition of approximately 1,000 books authored by French writers will be made available at the “French Corner”. These books are translated into Singapore’s four official languages – English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, with the majority of the titles in English. The “French Corner” will be located at the Social Sciences and Humanities, Science & Technology collections at Level 7 of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, in this building. The collection chosen will comprise classical French literary works and representative works in philosophy, humanities and social sciences that will reflect the wealth, diversity and quality of French philosophical thought and literature.
6 With the launch of the “French Corner”, Singaporeans will have more opportunities to explore, understand and appreciate the vibrant culture and rich heritage of France and its people. The “French Corner” is yet another effort under NLB’s Library 2010 Masterplan to establish international exchanges with key partners around the world. Such exchanges enables NLB to further build up its capabilities as a world-class knowledge provider of rich content available to all Singaporeans.
7 In closing, let me express my deepest gratitude to the French Government and especially Mr Jean-Francois Copé for making this “French Corner” a reality.
8 Thank you very much.
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