ASTANA, Kazakhstan – Singapore and Kazakhstan can cooperate on common challenges in education, empowering women and interfaith dialogue, said President Halimah Yacob.
On Tuesday, she highlighted the three areas that the two countries can work together on during her speech at Nazarbayev University, where she was conferred an honorary professorship.
“Despite our different national circumstances and developmental needs, there is scope for our countries to share experiences and work together on common challenges,” said Madam Halimah, who is on state visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
On education, she said that both Singapore and Kazakhstan recognise the importance of lifelong learning and skills upgrading for adults.
Nazarbayev University, for instance, offers its students job placements with industry partners to apply their skills in real-world settings, she noted.
Madam Halimah also highlighted the close connections between Nazarbayev University and the National University of Singapore.
The current dean of Nazarbayev University’s Graduate School of Public Policy is Professor Hui Weng Tat, a Singaporean who was seconded from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and has lived in Astana for almost eight years.
Madam Halimah encouraged more faculty and student exchanges between Singapore and Kazakhstan, saying this will “not only bring about greater people-to-people interactions but (also) facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices”.
