By Asia Samachar Team | SINGAPORE |
Satvinder Singh, a senior Singapore civil servant, will be joining the Asean secretariat at a deputy secretary-general.
He has been appointed as deputy secretary-general for the Asean Economic Community (AEC), effective today (26 March). He will serve for a three-year term.
Prior to this, Satvinder was the assistant chief executive officer of Enterprise Singapore (ESG).
He is the second senior most Sikh in the history of the regional grouping. Malaysia’s Ajit Singh was Asean secretary general from 1993 to 1997.
The AEC represents Asean’s continued commitment to an increasingly seamless, integrated and connected region, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in the statement announcing his appointment.
The statement added that it envisions Asean as a single market and production base, a highly competitive region with equitable economic development, and fully integrated into the global economy. This is especially salient as economies in the region seek to recover from the COVID- 19 pandemic.
Satvinder was appointed by the Asean Coordinating Council to succeed Dr Aladdin D Rillo from the Philippines.
He will support the Asean secretary-general in implementing the AEC Blueprint 2025 as well as support the realisation of the AEC’s goals.
The statement added that Satvinder will oversee the directorates and divisions of the Asean Economic Community Department in ASEC, and manage development cooperation in economic matters, policy and relations with Asean member states, Asean Dialogue Partners and international organisations.
It added that he has relinquished his role at ESG, a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where he spearheaded efforts in the trade, transport and logistics and business services sectors.
Over the years, he has built strong relationships with the global trade community, strengthened the trading ecosystem in Singapore, as well as led the teams to develop strategies and policies to support companies in strengthening capabilities and expanding overseas.
As stated in the Asean Charter, the secretary-general shall be assisted by four deputies (DSGs) of different nationalities from the secretary-general and shall come from four different Asean member states, according to a statement at the Asean secretariat website.
Two DSGs are nominated by member states on a rotational basis for a non-renewable term of three years while two DSGs are openly-recruited based on merit for a three-year term which may be renewed for another three years. DSG Singh is one of the two openly-recruited DSGs and he will serve from 2021 to 2024, the statement added.
Satvinder has a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Sociology) from National University of Singapore (NUS). He attended the Harvard Business School’s advanced management program in 2017.
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