Transcript of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s Remarks at the 2025 Foreign Service Scholarship Award Ceremony, 6 August 2025

Minister Vivian Balakrishnan: Good afternoon, friends, colleagues, distinguished guests, parents, teachers, principals, our scholarship recipients, and most importantly, the family members of the scholars.

Today, we celebrate a significant milestone for six scholars who will be joining the MFA family. I believe you will be departing for your studies soon. Crystal, Brishen, Caitlyn, Zhi Xuan, Brandon and Ethan. Crystal will begin her journey in France to acquire language proficiency. Brishen and Caitlyn will be off to the US. Zhi Xuan, Brandon and Ethan will be in the UK.

I say this every year, a scholarship in Singapore and in MFA is far more than a financial commitment or a bond. It is far, far more than that. It is, in fact, a solemn and profound commitment to a career as a diplomat for the Republic of Singapore. In a few days’ time, we will be celebrating the 60^th anniversary of Singapore. Just bear in mind that if Singapore was not independent and sovereign, there would be no Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there would be no need for diplomats. As a future Foreign Service Officer, you will play a vital role for Singapore and for Singapore's independence and sovereignty. It will be an increasingly complex and difficult world in which all of us as citizens of Singapore will have to navigate.

The path that you have chosen, and I hope you understand the full implications of your choice, will demand total dedication, resilience, and unwavering commitment to our national interests. It is not about you, it is not even about us, it is about our nation. It means it will be a challenging path, but it will be a fulfilling one of service, of purpose. You will have both the privilege and the responsibility of representing Singapore, and also protecting and shaping the future prospects for Singapore for generations to come.

Today's world – I am sure you all are aware – is more dangerous, more complicated, more volatile, more uncertain. The global order, the so-called rules-based world order, which has prevailed for 80 years, of which 60 years  we have been independent, gave us unprecedented opportunities to maximise the hard work and discipline of our population, the imagination and competence of our civil service and the political leadership.

The bad news is, that benign world order is over. Concepts like multilateralism, international rules-based order, all these concepts are now under strain. We do not yet know what the replacement world order will be, but what we do know is that in the transition from one world order to next, in this interregnum, in this period of transition, it is precisely the time of greatest danger for a small city state like ours. We are moving from a world where there was basically, for the past couple of decades, a single hyper-power. We are moving to a world of multipolarity. It means global power is distributed across multiple nations and regions, it means the relationships are still evolving. How power will be distributed and exercised is still up for grabs. This has far-reaching implications for us. A lot of attention, obviously, is focused on the two superpowers- United States and China- but this dynamic, this flux in uncertainty prevails across all diplomatic relations. What this means is for a tiny city state like us – exquisitely dependent on the external world for investments, for trade, for jobs, for security, for all the essentials of life that we consume, water, food, energy –  this will have profound implications for Singapore. Have no doubt about it.

Meanwhile, as if that were not enough, we also have the challenge in the area which we call the commons. The commons – meaning climate change, pandemics and other areas where there will be emerging and evolving threats to the world, collectively. Paradoxically, when you are challenged in the global commons, that is actually the time when you need most cooperation and trust between nations. I am making the point that this transition to a multipolar world, with all its uncertainty, occurring at a time when there is also greater need to protect the global commons, is another factor for uncertainty.

Do not forget the other tectonic shift which we are witnessing, and which you as the younger generation of Singaporeans will live through. It is the technological revolution. The simultaneous revolutions in AI, digitalisation, biotechnology, renewable energy – all this is going to transform jobs, prospects, the distribution of wealth, the distribution of power. You are, whether you like it or not, living through a moment of profound change with all the danger and opportunities that this presents us.

For a small nation like Singapore, these global developments make it even more important for us to navigate with exceptional care and strategic foresight to the maximum possible. Our survival as a tiny city state, in fact our success, depends on us being eternally vigilant, being outward-looking and yet having enough self-awareness of our internal, domestic circumstances. The values and the evolving aspirations of our own people. Because without that sensitivity and without that ability to generate domestic consensus, we cannot pursue foreign policy effectively. In all this, our diplomats play a key role. It goes beyond analysing developments, it goes beyond providing recommendations, assessing implications, articulating Singapore's identity, reflecting our values, protecting the aspirations of Singaporeans both at home and the many Singaporeans now who live, work and study overseas. Whilst we do all this, as I have alluded to earlier, we also need to make sure we generate enough support domestically for the foreign policy positions that we take. Many times in life, there are no clear, obvious, right or wrong, black and white answers. Trying to maintain domestic support in such nebulous and volatile times is an additional challenge.

MFA’s key resource, ultimately, is people. Our talent. That is why we invest consistently and over decades, in people, in your education, in your exposure to our work, and to groom you for what we hope will be a long and successful career in MFA. You are now embarking on your first step, which is your first couple of years in university. It will be exciting, challenging and hopefully transformative. I have to say that academic excellence forms the essential foundation. But I also want to make the point that if you think all you need to do is to study, you have missed the biggest opportunity. This is a time for you to open your eyes, broaden your minds, widen your networks, explore ideas. At the same time, being young gives you both an advantage and disadvantage. The advantage is that the future stretches infinitely in front of you. The disadvantage, and I speak here from experience, is that at any age we always assume we know best and that our predecessors or our parents or our teachers or principals come from another age

and are irrelevant. I am asking you to keep an open mind and maintain the intellectual humility. Do not ever assume you have all the answers, and even if you have the answer that fits this time now, the answer may change because of changing circumstances.

So keep your mind open and flexible. That means going beyond your comfort zone. It means forging meaningful relationships, especially with people from diverse backgrounds, and in the case of MFA, with people from other countries with sometimes what looks like completely alien perspectives. Never, never assume that everyone thinks the way Singaporeans do because we are a unique small state, barely 60 years old, still rapidly evolving. Try to see the world through other people's eyes, from the perspective of people who are not living in Singapore. Understand the aspirations, understand their anxieties, their concerns, and try to build useful and valuable networks that you can tap on in the future.

Your scholarship will provide many opportunities. We will give you – I am not sure whether it is going to be more stress – internships with us as well. That means you get a little bit less holidays than some of your other classmates. You will be exposed both to work locally in our headquarters as well as our Overseas Missions. You will get first-hand experience of what life on the front line is. I believe you will also be assigned mentors whom we hope will be a good source of advice and guidance at a personal, customised level.

These formative years will lay the crucial foundation for your Foreign Service

career, so make full use of this time. I should also add – thinking back on the journey which now seems so long ago when I was your age – that the next few years should be the best years of your life. Whilst you try to live up to all these heavy pressures that I have placed on your shoulders, do not forget to enjoy life as well. It is part of the learning journey. Keep that positive spirit going. As diplomats, throughout all the difficulties that the world goes through, throughout all the disagreements and conflicts and violence, diplomats must retain an innate sense of optimism that the world can be a better place, that we can make a difference, and that building networks and keeping an open mind is valuable.  I do not want you to lose that joy of life, the excitement of exploration, and that sense of optimism. I know it has been a serious message, but I also need to end on this point of optimism. Wishing you all the very best for a bright, happy and meaningful future.

Thank you all and congratulations.

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