Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore's ambassador to the United States since 2012, visited Elon on Feb. 21 and delivered a talk at the Love School of Business about his country's place in the global economy.
Looking at a world map, it might be easy to overlook Singapore, the Southeast Asian country that has just 270 square miles of territory. Given its size, the printed name of the country is often larger than the country's depiction on the map, said Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore's ambassador to the United States since 2012.
But Mirpuri made it clear during his Feb. 21 talk at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business that the "little red dot" is leaving a very large mark on the global economy, with extensive investment in the country from worldwide partners and a bustling financial services industry. The country has become a hub for the finance and energy industries, drivers of prosperity in a nation that has few natural resources and a population of 5.5 million.
"We have created an environment that makes it very easy to do business in Singapore, one that protects intellectual property and that has the rule of law, and therefore attracts a large number of U.S. businesses," Mirpuri said.
Mirpuri's visit to Elon followed a meeting in Washington D.C. last year with Dr. Aldona Wos, a former ambassador to Estonia, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and with her husband, Elon trustee Louis DeJoy, a dedicated supporter of the university. Wos and Timothy Chorba, the former U.S. ambassador to Singapore, joined Mirpuri during his visit to Elon. Mirpuri said Wos told him that Elon was an "international- and outward-looking campus," an idea reflected in Elon's commitment to offering study abroad experiences.
In her introduction of Mirpuri, President Connie Ledoux Book noted that five Elon students are currently studying in Singapore at Nanyang Technological University, among the programs that speak to the "impact of a global education and being a citizen of the world."
The island city-state off of the coast of southern Malaysia, Singapore was colonized by the British from 1819 until 1959, when it joined Malaysia. The country became independent six years later. "What we've done from 1965 to today … is create a tiny island state with nothing, into one of the global hubs for business and finance and security and economic thinking," Mirpuri said.
Singapore has placed an emphasis on global engagement, particularly with the United States. There are more investments by U.S. companies in Singapore than in India and China combined, and the Singapore and the U.S. also have a strong military partnership, with Singapore's largest foreign military base located on U.S. soil. "We see the United States as a Pacific power, not just in military terms, but in business terms," Mirpuri said.
Singapore also provides an avenue for the U.S. to engage with other Asian companies, with Mirpuri noting that talks between the U.S. and North Korea last year took place in Singapore, as did an Asian summit attended by Vice President Mike Pence. "These are very valuable exchanges that are starting to take place," Mirpuri said.
Asked about his country's challenges, Mirpuri responded that "the biggest challenge is really keeping an open world," noting that developing trade wars the impose or raise tariffs can impede Singapore, which relies heavily on imports and exports.
Public opinion has also shifted about the concept of globalization, which Mirpuri noted seems to have become a negative word. Singapore has been active in establishing free trade agreements, and would be harmed if those are impacted.
"If the world starts closing down, if you get protectionist attitudes around the world, that will impact Singapore," Mirpuri said. "Our economic growth only comes becasue we're plugged into the rest of the world. For a very small country that relies on the rest of the world, we need the world to stay open to us."