High Commissioner of South Africa to Singapore, H.E. Charlotte Lobe, has made a lasting impression and lasting impact raising the country’s and Africa’s profiles in Singapore. Interview by ONE Africa Editor-in-Chief Ms Nomita Dhar
Many have described her literally like a force of nature whose hurricane-like energy can be so focused that you have no doubt she will accomplish any task that she has set her mind on. And it has come to pass that since presenting her credentials last July there has been a slew of programmes and activities that have contributed to strengthening Singapore’s ties with South Africa and Africa as a whole.
You have been involved in a large number of events and set targets never attempted before. They have been very well received and successful in strengthening ties between Singapore and South Africa. Please share the highlights of these bilateral engagements.
2023 has been a phenomenal year for South Africa and Singapore. And it has been phenomenal in all areas of our work as I had been saying at all of our events. We have five tasks here in Singapore: The first one is for the Singapore Government to continue to cooperate with us and strengthen bilateral ties as well as cooperate with us in institutions of multilateralism like the WTO, WHO, and UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and the UN headquarters in New York.
The second one is we are asking Singapore and Singaporeans to trade with South Africa and the African continent. We are asking to invest in South Africa and in the African continent. We are asking Singaporeans to visit South Africa as a destination of choice, but also to visit other African countries because of our diverse geography.
Lastly, we are asking Singaporeans to have relations with South Africans that can assist us in achieving the other parts of the work that I’m doing in Singapore on Science Diplomacy. With respect to this, we’re linking universities, scientific institutions in South Africa and universities here. We are also promoting Cultural Diplomacy. We are really trying to link both our people to share their cultures through music, fine arts, and fashion. And the reason for this is for us to appreciate that even though we are far apart, we are one people and there’s a lot that we can achieve as one people.
South Africa is formed on a foundation of Ubuntu. We say – I am because you are. South Africa is what it is today because of other countries and what South Africa wants for its citizens is what it wants for citizens of the world.
This has also been expressed through the work we have been doing through the different pillars such as the Women’s Roundtable meeting that you were part of. We are really trying to look at ways of connecting the women in Singapore and South Africa. And the reason for this – and why I am passionate about it – is because women are innovators and creators of wealth. There is nowhere in the world that does not have the hand of a woman involved; this goes right up to the fact that all of us are born of a woman.
We’ve had other roundtable meetings that included trying to link young people. We were fortunate during this year that we’ve had a few exchange programmes, even though they were not that huge between young people in Singapore and South Africa. It’s something that I’m really proud of. Early in December we had children coming from South African schools who are competing in sports with children in Singapore and those little things are things that really warm my heart.
The bigger events we’ve had is the South Africa Focus Week here. The Week had different elements including B2B engagements where we created platforms for South African businesses meet up with Singaporean businesses. And, we were successful in business matching during the Week. We created a platform for the government, departments, agencies, and our provinces to meet with the government agencies in Singapore.
When you first arrived you said you had various plans to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of South Africa-Singapore Diplomatic Ties. Have they all gone according to plan?
As part of the 30th, I promised you that there would be high-level visits. We delivered the first one where Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited South Africa. There was a huge business delegation accompanying him who included people who are already present in South Africa and those who are new looking for opportunities to expand there. Now we are closing the year with our Deputy President Paul Mashatile who will not only be pursuing the five elements I talked about earlier but particularly looking at your skills economy and how Singapore has evolved over the years to be where it is today. Of course, we’ve worked and collaborated with you and we regard you as one of our partners right from the beginning of my tenure.
I remembered there was some skepticism about the launch of the roundtables etc but we managed to pull it off. For example, we had a wonderful discussion at the Women’s Roundtable and I am thankful to partners like yourself, She Brilliance, Character, and Leadership Academy for embracing me and my madness when I came to Singapore because I believe that I had a lot of ideas that I had said to you may be that bit crazy, but let’s try and see which ones are implementable!
