The Accidental Diplomat: The Autobiography of Maurice Baker by Maurice Baker

Author:Maurice Baker [Baker, Maurice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Political, Political Science, International Relations, Diplomacy, Public Policy, General
ISBN: 9789814618311
Google: BWPToAEACAAJ
Goodreads: 22582981
Publisher: World Scientific
Published: 2014-01-15T06:11:40+00:00

Picture 12: MB presenting credentials to the King of Nepal, June 1969.

Picture 13: MB and Mrs Barbara Baker with the Foreign Minister of India, Dinesh Singh, at Singapore’s National Day reception in New Delhi, 1969.

Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi’s Visit to Singapore

Early in 1968, Mr K.C. Nair, joint secretary of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, told me that Mrs Gandhi would like to visit Singapore. Diplomatic courtesy demands that the host country should issue an invitation to make it appear that it is its own idea to invite the dignitary of another country. Accordingly, Singapore sent a formal invitation to the Indian prime minister welcoming a visit from her.

The official visit took place on 19 and 20 May 1968. Mrs Gandhi arrived accompanied by a dozen officials. She paid the usual courtesy call to President Yusof Ishak and Puan Noor Aishah at the Istana, followed by her call at 7 p.m. on Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew for discussions, before the banquet hosted by him and Mrs Lee at the Singapore Conference Hall. Our prime minister made a superb speech at the dinner which the Indians appreciated greatly as he paid tribute to India and the impact of Indian culture on Singapore. This is a contrast to the present overwhelming emphasis on Confucian culture. The speech also reveals Singapore’s educational and economic plans and hopes in 1968. I want to quote most of what he said as reported in our newspapers:

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