The High Commission reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, accountability, and ethical public service as part of Sri Lanka’s nationwide National Integrity Week initiative.

The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore joined the commencement of Sri Lanka’s National Integrity Week 2026 by participating in the national initiative, “A Culture of Integrity – A Clean Sri Lanka”, on 27 July.

As part of the observance, the High Commission’s staff read the National Integrity Pledge in both Sinhala and Tamil, reaffirming their commitment to upholding the values of transparency, integrity, accountability, and respect for the rule of law in line with Sri Lanka’s public service principles.

Led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, the national initiative seeks to strengthen the quality, efficiency, and transparency of the public service while promoting ethical values as the foundation of sustainable national development.

Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Aruni Ranaraja, addressed the gathering at the commencement of National Integrity Week, emphasising that integrity is demonstrated through everyday choices, accountability, fairness, and placing the public interest above personal interests. She also highlighted the Ministry’s role in representing Sri Lanka internationally through diplomacy, foreign employment, tourism, trade, and investment, noting that every interaction undertaken by the Ministry reflects on the country’s reputation.

Sri Lanka’s overseas missions and posts, including the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore, participated virtually in the national event, with more than 130 participants supporting the country’s integrity initiative.

Source: High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore

The workshop provided a platform for participants to exchange perspectives on protecting critical infrastructure, enhancing incident response, and strengthening regional cooperation against evolving cyber threats.

The Australian High Commission in Singapore participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on National and Regional Approaches to Incident Management of ICT-Enabled Critical Infrastructure, held in Singapore on 21 July.

Co-organised by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and the European External Action Service, the workshop focused on national and regional approaches to incident management affecting ICT-enabled critical infrastructure.

Source: Australian High Commission, Singapore

The ranking highlights Qatar’s labour market efficiency under the Business Efficiency pillar, reinforcing its competitiveness in attracting investment and skilled talent.

Qatar ranked second globally in the Labour Market indicator under the Business Efficiency pillar of the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2026, underscoring the country’s continued efforts to enhance its business environment and workforce competitiveness.

The achievement is significant as labour market efficiency has become an important consideration for global companies when making investment and expansion decisions, providing Qatar with a competitive advantage at both the regional and international levels.

Economic expert Dr. Abdullah Al Khater attributed the ranking to Qatar’s ongoing efforts to develop its labour market through initiatives that improve the working environment, strengthen skills development, support research and education, and align workforce capabilities with evolving market needs.  The Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) also noted that the ranking reflects the efficiency, attractiveness, and competitiveness of Qatar’s labour market in attracting skilled professionals. 

The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, published annually by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), evaluates the competitiveness of economies based on four pillars: Economic Performance, Government Efficiency, Business Efficiency, and Infrastructure.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The forum brought together policymakers, regulators, investors, and industry leaders to discuss financial innovation, regional integration, and sustainable growth.

The 4th ASEAN Forum: The Future of Finance was held at The Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong, Brunei Darussalam, on 28 July. Organised by Asia Asset Management (AAM) in collaboration with the Brunei Institute of Leadership & Islamic Finance (BILIF), and supported by the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB), the forum was held under the theme “Innovation, Integration and Growth in an Age of Transition”.

The forum aimed to foster dialogue among policymakers, regulators, institutional investors, and industry leaders on innovative investment strategies, emerging opportunities in Islamic and digital finance, and strengthening ASEAN’s financial ecosystem through greater regional collaboration.

Delivering the keynote address, Brunei’s Minister of Finance II, H.E. Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji Mohd. Amin Liew bin Abdullah said the true measure of the financial sector lies not only in the prosperity it creates today, but also in the prosperity it sustains for future generations. He also highlighted Brunei’s commitment to building a trusted and future-ready financial system through initiatives such as the Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2025–2030, the FinTech Regulatory Sandbox, and TARUS.

The forum featured presentations and panel discussions by financial leaders from across the region, including representatives from Baiduri Bank, Affin Bank, Bank of Singapore, Nomura Asset Management, and Hijra Group.

Source: Pelita Brunei

Recognised by National Geographic as one of the world’s best food destinations for 2026, Buon Ma Thuot is gaining international attention for its exceptional coffee culture and authentic culinary experiences.

Buon Ma Thuot is stepping onto the global culinary stage after earning a place among National Geographic‘s 15 Best Food Destinations in the World for 2026. Ranked fourth on the prestigious list, the capital of Dak Lak has outperformed many internationally renowned food destinations, highlighting Vietnam’s growing influence in global gastronomy through its distinctive coffee heritage and local flavours.

Located in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, Buon Ma Thuot sits at the heart of the world’s largest robusta-producing region. As climate change continues to affect Arabica production worldwide, the city’s high-quality robusta beans are becoming increasingly valuable to the international coffee industry. Vietnam, the world’s second-largest coffee exporter, supplies more than 70 countries, with the Central Highlands contributing over 40 per cent of the nation’s coffee exports. Experts praise Buon Ma Thuot’s robusta for its rich body, intense aroma, low acidity, and naturally sweet finish.

Beyond production, Buon Ma Thuot has developed a vibrant coffee culture that blends tradition with innovation. Visitors can experience the slow-brewed phin coffee that defines Vietnamese café culture alongside iconic local beverages such as cà phê sữa đá, creamy egg coffee, and the increasingly popular salt coffee. These unique drinks have transformed the city into a destination where travellers can experience Vietnam’s evolving coffee traditions first-hand.

The city’s appeal extends beyond its cafés through attractions such as the World Coffee Museum and Trung Nguyen Coffee Village, where visitors can explore Vietnam’s coffee history, discover traditional brewing methods, and sample premium local blends. As global travellers increasingly seek authentic, sustainable, and culturally rich food experiences, Buon Ma Thuot is establishing itself as more than an agricultural powerhouse—it is becoming one of Asia’s most exciting culinary destinations.

Source:  Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Vietnam

Have you ever wondered how a simple combination of cobalt blue and white porcelain became one of China’s most influential cultural exports? Thousand years later, this story continues to shape art, design and global craftsmanship.

Inside Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, in the old imperial kitchens that once fed the Ottoman court, sits one of the largest collections of Chinese porcelain outside China itself: more than 10,000 pieces in total, over 5,000 of them blue-and-white, almost all of it fired in the kilns of a single Chinese town. None of it was made for Turkey. It arrived over centuries as tribute, as trade, as diplomatic gift, and it simply never left. Versions of that same story sit in a stately home in England, a museum in Singapore, an antique gallery in Hong Kong. Walk into enough grand rooms around the world and eventually you’ll find the same pairing: cobalt blue against brilliant white. Blue-and-white porcelain crossed continents long before passports existed, riding merchant ships that linked China to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Along the way, it became one of history’s first truly global luxury goods: it shaped Dutch Delftware and Japanese Arita ware, inspired Ottoman Iznik ceramics, and left its mark on European interiors and dining tables alike. Few objects have travelled so far while staying so unmistakably Chinese.

The story starts with an experiment nobody much liked at the time. In the ninth century, Tang-dynasty kilns at Gongyi in Henan began mixing local clay with cobalt pigment imported from the Abbasid world, making pieces for Middle Eastern buyers who wanted something no one else could offer. Back home in China, it didn’t catch on, and the style all but disappeared for centuries. It took the Yuan dynasty, and Persian cobalt in the hands of Jingdezhen’s potters, to turn that early experiment into mastery. Then came the Ming dynasty, and porcelain hit its golden age under the Yongle and Xuande emperors: rich sapphire-blue tones, and a “heaping-and-piling” effect where the imported cobalt, slightly impure, pooled and darkened under the glaze into something that became a signature rather than a flaw. The Qing dynasty pushed the craft further still. Under the Kangxi emperor, painters worked out fenshui, or “water separation”, precise enough to coax five distinct shades of blue out of a single pigment. It’s a technique practised and admired to this day.

Every road in this story leads back to Jingdezhen, in Jiangxi Province. China’s “Porcelain Capital” has been firing kilns for more than a thousand years, built on rich deposits of kaolin clay and porcelain stone, with a river network that once carried its wares out to the rest of the country and the world. It supplied emperors, met overseas demand, and produced techniques that were copied everywhere from Delft to Iznik but never quite equalled. On 25 July 2026, that history was formally recognised, when the Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea. UNESCO’s citation didn’t treat the city as a museum piece: it recognised a living cultural landscape, its ancient kilns, workshops, mining sites and waterways all remaining in active use. China has other celebrated ceramic centres too, including Dehua in Fujian for its pale Blanc de Chine, Longquan in Zhejiang for celadon, and Yixing in Jiangsu for its purple-clay teapots, but for blue-and-white, Jingdezhen has no real rival.

Ask anyone in Jingdezhen what the city’s greatest treasure is, though, and porcelain is only half the answer. The other half is its people. Making a single piece takes patience on a scale most of us have forgotten how to practise: kaolin clay and porcelain stone, refined and shaped by hand, before an artist paints a freehand design in cobalt oxide directly onto the unfired body. Glaze goes on next, then the kiln — temperatures past 1,300°C, hot enough that the dull grey pigment underneath turns, almost like a trick, into the vivid blue collectors have chased for centuries. Every motif carries meaning, too. A dragon means imperial authority. A lotus means purity, a peony prosperity. Pine, bamboo and plum together form the “Three Friends of Winter,” an old symbol of resilience and integrity. None of it is just decoration — it’s Chinese philosophy, painted in cobalt. And in Jingdezhen, much of this knowledge travels the oldest way there is: many workshops remain family-run, skills handed from grandparent to grandchild, one generation teaching the next to hold the brush.

Few artisans shaped modern Chinese ceramics more than Wang Xiliang (1922–2023), one of the first ceramicists in China to earn the national title of Ceramic Art Master. Born and raised in Jingdezhen, he treated blue-and-white porcelain the way a painter treats canvas, covering it in sweeping mountain landscapes whose brushwork earned him admirers well beyond China. His pieces sit today in museums and private collections, and his influence carries through the work of ceramic artists who came after him — among them Professor Ning Gang, President of Jingdezhen Ceramic University, who carries that legacy forward alongside thousands of contemporary makers mixing old craft with new ideas. On weekends at Taoxichuan Creative District — a former state porcelain factory turned into one of China’s liveliest creative hubs — young ceramicists known locally as “Jingpiao” set up and sell their work straight to the people walking through. Old tradition, new buyers, barely any gap between them: proof enough that blue-and-white porcelain isn’t finished yet.

That energy at Taoxichuan is part of something bigger happening across China. Guochao, or “China chic,” has given younger generations the confidence to embrace traditional aesthetics on their own terms, and blue-and-white motifs are turning up in places they never used to — on fashion runways, in jewellery, across luxury hotel lobbies, boutique cafés, premium packaging, contemporary interiors. Designers are reworking imperial patterns for modern homes; international hospitality brands are commissioning Jingdezhen artisans directly, for hotels and restaurants that want something no factory catalogue can offer. Blue-and-white porcelain didn’t have to fight modern design for a place at the table. It simply became part of the table — heritage that evolved without losing itself.

For anyone who wants to see all this firsthand, Jingdezhen itself is still the best place to start. The Jingdezhen Ceramic Museum and the Ancient Kiln Folk Customs Museum walk you through the city’s shift from imperial production centre to living cultural capital, and Taoxichuan Creative Market is where you actually meet the artists and buy from them directly. Serious collectors tend to end up in Hong Kong, where Sotheby’s, Christie’s and the dealers along Hollywood Road remain the centre of gravity for Chinese ceramics; Beijing and Shanghai have respected antique markets of their own, though experts are consistent on one point — chase documented provenance, not reign marks, since the best reproductions of Ming and Qing pieces are good enough to fool almost anyone. Beyond China, the fullest collections sit in Singapore’s Asian Civilisations Museum, Beijing’s Palace Museum, the Shanghai Museum, Taipei’s National Palace Museum, and London’s British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum — each holding a different chapter of porcelain’s journey across the world.

For Singapore, none of this is a story about somewhere else. Earlier this year, archaeologists confirmed that the Temasek Wreck, sitting in Singapore’s own waters, holds the largest cargo of Yuan-dynasty blue-and-white porcelain ever recovered from a single shipwreck. It dates to the mid-fourteenth century — evidence that Temasek was already a serious international trading port, moving Chinese ceramics through regional networks centuries before modern Singapore existed. That thread hasn’t broken. Contemporary collaborations like Singapore Blue still work directly with Jingdezhen artisans today, a sign that the Singapore and China relationship is tied together by porcelain that hasn’t cooled off in over six centuries.

None of this fascination is cooling off, either. The celebrated Chenghua “Chicken Cup” still holds the record as the most expensive Chinese porcelain ever sold at auction, and imperial pieces from the Yongle, Xuande and Kangxi periods keep commanding extraordinary prices at every major sale. Collectors are paying for more than rarity — for craftsmanship, provenance, the quality of the cobalt itself, and whatever story a given piece can still tell. But the real achievement of blue-and-white porcelain was never about auction records. It’s one of the earliest working examples of cultural diplomacy there is: proof that art can travel further than armies, and that a good idea, carried in the right hands, can do more than politics or commerce ever could alone. More than a thousand years after the first cobalt brushstroke met white clay, that’s still true. Dynasties have risen and fallen since. Ships carrying it have gone down to the bottom of the sea, only to resurface centuries later, off the coast of a country that didn’t exist yet when they sank. And on any given weekend in Taoxichuan, someone is still buying a piece straight from the hands that made it — recognisably the same idea, still stopping people in their tracks.

Sources & References:
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre, “Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites”
• Topkapi Palace Museum
• People’s Daily reports on the UNESCO inscription of Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites

Written by Charoline Charity Chandra

Tourism ministry supports sustainable marine tourism, investment, and regional economic growth in Sumbawa.

Indonesia’s Tourism Ministry has reaffirmed its commitment to developing the Samota Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, into a world-class marine tourism destination to drive sustainable economic growth.

Indonesia’s Deputy Tourism Minister Ni Luh Puspa described the Samota SEZ as a strategic national tourism asset that combines marine attractions, conservation areas, and local cultural heritage within an integrated tourism ecosystem. Speaking during a meeting on July 24, she said the ministry will continue improving the investment climate by streamlining licensing procedures, upgrading tourism infrastructure, strengthening the tourism workforce, and promoting the SEZ to investors.

The Indonesian government envisions the Samota SEZ as a catalyst for the blue, green, circular, and creative economies. Beyond tourism, the development is expected to strengthen fisheries, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), livestock farming, and agro-industry, creating a more integrated regional economy.

Ms. Puspa also highlighted the area’s accessibility through Indonesia’s Sultan Muhammad Kaharuddin Airport and Pototano Port, which strengthen connectivity between Sumbawa and Lombok and serve as key gateways for domestic and international visitors. The ministry expects improved connectivity to help attract more visitors and investment.

The initiative builds on positive tourism momentum in West Nusa Tenggara. Between January and October 2025, Sumbawa and Dompu districts welcomed more than one million visitors combined. The ministry also expects the Samota SEZ to attract more international travelers arriving through Indonesia’s Zainuddin Abdul Madjid International Airport in Lombok, particularly from Malaysia, Singapore, China, the United Kingdom, and France.

With continued government support, the Samota Special Economic Zone is expected to strengthen Sumbawa’s profile as a leading marine tourism destination while delivering lasting economic benefits for local communities across West Nusa Tenggara.

Source: ANTARA News

Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), and Endeavor launched Endeavor’s first Asia-Pacific Global Hub in Singapore, alongside a new programme to help high-potential startups expand internationally.

Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) strengthened their partnership with Endeavor through the launch of Endeavor’s Global Hub in Singapore, the organisation’s first hub in the Asia-Pacific region. Held at Jewel Changi Airport, the event brought together more than 170 founders, investors, and ecosystem partners to reinforce Singapore’s role as a global technology and innovation hub.

The launch was attended by Minister of State Alvin Tan and formed part of Singapore’s ongoing efforts to support entrepreneurship, innovation, and international business expansion. The Global Hub is designed to connect entrepreneurs from around the world with Singapore’s startup ecosystem while enabling Singapore-based founders to leverage Endeavor’s global network to access new markets and growth opportunities.

During the event, Enterprise Singapore, EDB, and Endeavor also introduced the inaugural Dare to Scale programme, an initiative supporting high-potential, early-stage startups with global expansion. The first cohort comprises eight Singapore-based companies operating in artificial intelligence, financial technology, agrifood technology, and enterprise software sectors.

The inaugural participants include AIDX, Ailytics, Bluente, FailSafe Cybersecurity, HeyMax, Level3AI, Otonomi, and ProfilePrint. The programme aims to equip these companies with access to international networks, mentorship, and strategic support to accelerate their global growth.

The launch highlighted Singapore’s continued commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening its position as a regional hub for entrepreneurship and technology. The Global Hub and the Dare to Scale programme are expected to create further opportunities for startups to collaborate, scale internationally, and contribute to Singapore’s innovation ecosystem.

Source: Enterprise Singapore

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister K Shanmugam launched the “25 Years of Legal Reform in Singapore” book series, highlighting the evolution of Singapore’s legal framework and its role in supporting governance, social cohesion, and national development.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam attended the launch of the “25 Years of Legal Reform in Singapore” book series on 28 July 2026. Held as part of the SGLaw200 commemorations marking the bicentennial of Singapore’s modern legal system, the event reflected on a quarter-century of legislative reforms that have shaped the country’s legal and institutional landscape.

The four-volume publication documents major legal reforms introduced between 2000 and 2025 across areas including civil, criminal, family, constitutional, and public law, as well as intellectual property, restructuring and insolvency, international dispute resolution, and emergency legislation enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series also examines the policy considerations behind each reform and features contributions from policymakers, legal practitioners, judges, academics, and public sector officers.

In his keynote address, Senior Minister Lee said Singapore’s legal system had evolved continuously to remain relevant amid technological advances, changing social expectations, and emerging security challenges. He noted that law reform had been an ongoing process requiring each generation to review existing legislation, update outdated provisions, and introduce new laws that addressed contemporary needs while preserving the rule of law.

Senior Minister Lee highlighted several significant legal developments, including legislation safeguarding racial and religious harmony, reforms addressing online falsehoods and foreign interference, emergency laws introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and constitutional amendments responding to changing societal norms. He emphasised that effective laws must be supported by trusted institutions and shared civic values to maintain public confidence and national resilience.

Speaking at the launch, Senior Minister K Shanmugam underscored the practical role of law reform in addressing real-world challenges and improving the lives of Singaporeans. Drawing on examples such as the establishment of the Family Justice Courts, the Simplified Divorce Track, the Maintenance Enforcement Process, reforms to criminal justice, the development of Singapore as an international arbitration hub, and the legal response to COVID-19, he said legislation had enabled the Government to respond effectively to evolving social and economic needs.

Both leaders emphasised that law reform had strengthened Singapore’s governance framework while reinforcing the rule of law, institutional integrity, and public trust. They noted that the legal system must continue adapting to future challenges, including artificial intelligence, digital technologies, cybersecurity, climate change, and demographic shifts, while remaining anchored in constitutional principles and effective governance.

The launch concluded with the presentation of the four-volume series, which is expected to serve as a reference for students, legal practitioners, academics, judges, and policymakers. The publication also aims to support future discussions on Singapore’s legal development as the country continues to strengthen its legal institutions and legislative framework for the years ahead.

Source: Prime Minister’s Office Singapore

The Let Her Shine! Youth Wellness Event 2026 brought together young participants for a series of expert-led sessions focused on mental, physical, and preventive health.

The Let Her Shine! Youth Wellness Event 2026 brought together youths in Singapore for a morning of health education, prevention, and community engagement. Graced by Ms Indranee Rajah, President of SINDA, the event aimed to equip participants with practical knowledge and resources to support lifelong well-being through informed lifestyle choices.

The programme served as a youth outreach initiative centred on preventive healthcare and holistic wellness. Participants attended expert-led sessions covering three key areas of well-being, mental health, heart health, and physical fitness, while engaging with community partners and wellness organisations that showcased services and support available beyond the event.

The sessions focused on recognising stress, building resilience, and promoting mental well-being under the Mind segment. The Heart session highlighted the importance of preventive healthcare, early detection, and heart-healthy habits, while the Body segment provided guidance on exercising safely, preventing injuries, and developing sustainable fitness routines. Participants were also introduced to community resources designed to encourage continued healthy living.

The event concluded with a shared commitment to promoting preventive healthcare and healthy lifestyles among young people. Organisers expressed hope that the knowledge and connections established during the programme would encourage participants to continue making informed choices for their long-term physical and mental well-being.

Source: SINDA