Orient Magazine Issue 73 - September 2019 | Page 32

Orient - The Official Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore - Issue 73 September 2019

Introducing the new British High Commissioner to Singapore Kara Owen

It’s so good to be back. And there’s nowhere I’d rather be.

That’s how I feel about taking up the post of British High Commissioner in Singapore. For me, this role is a huge privilege. I am representing my country and my government – that is a big deal in anyone’s books. But to be doing so here, in a region I love, in a country I have so admired for so long feels like the ultimate privilege. To be doing it now, as the UK forges a new path with ever stronger international partnerships is a bonus. As I said, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than being in Singapore as British High Commissioner.

When I say it’s good to be back, I don’t mean that I’ve lived here before. I have not. But I’ve been hooked by the Southeast Asia region since my late teens when I first visited the region. My first posting was in Hong Kong, much further north but with the same feeling of possibilities I’d sensed when first hitting the region a few years earlier.

I was one of a handful of UK diplomats to have served with the EU/ASEAN Aceh Monitoring Mission (and one of the few UK diplomats to have found her Irish husband when working in Banda Aceh!). And then I was in Hanoi, representing the UK in that extraordinarily transforming country as it joined the WTO. Since then, I’ve had a posting to Paris (Deputy Ambassador) and was then Director for the Americas in the Foreign Office, during which time I was at the heart of efforts to secure our interests with old allies – Canada and US – and renewed partnerships (Caribbean and Latin America) alike. Those roles were fascinating, but they could never quite snip the elastic that would always have me bouncing back to this dynamic and future-focused region.

UK and Singapore

As I represent the UK in Singapore, I am able to draw on the incredible depth and breadth of relationships and partnerships across the board. You, the members of the British Chamber of Commerce are an essential part of that fabric, whether you are at the helm of venerable MNCs, the lone representative of an innovative start up or somewhere in between. Many of your companies are setting the standards for excellence in your fields, showcasing the best of UK - Singapore partnership in trade, investment, innovation and research. I’ve met a number of you already and I look forward to meeting many more of you in the near future. My excellent predecessor, Scott Wightman, briefed me on the strength of your community and the efforts you have made to showcase the best the UK has to offer. It is vital that we continue to showcase the UK at the cutting edge of economic and trade developments. I am delighted that as we work on trade and investment issues, I have Natalie Black, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, alongside me. She covers Singapore as part of her role, and I am proud that she is based here and brings a regional perspective that matches your own.

The relationship isn’t just about business, though. It is woven through so much of what we do and what is important to the two countries. It’s in the judicial links; the well-organised Singapore Societies, run by top class