Singapore appeals as launchpad ‘‘A

sia, it is such a big country,’’ is a statement I have unfortunately heard more than once in this job.

The continent has close to 50 countries with interlocking and often disputed borders, thousands of ethnicities and cultural groups, even more languages, economies that range from the under-developed to super-sophisticated.

From a New Zealander’s perspective, the Asia region can be overwhelming.

That is perhaps why Singapore holds so much appeal to us. It is an island nation smaller than Lake Taupo¯ where most people speak English, that is good for shopping and easy to do business in. If Asia is a mountain for those doing business, Singapore is a more achievable base camp.

That is not to say it is without its complexities. To start with it is culturally very diverse – its four official languages are English, Malay, Tamil and Mandarin and they celebrate Chinese New Year, Diwali and Eid as well as Christmas.

It is a hugely successful economy, with a GDP per capita that sits with the likes of United States and Qatar. A far cry from the cheap shopping stopover it used to be. The World Economic Forum assessed it as the second most competitive economy in the world last year, and its policies are by-and-large very probusiness.

But Singapore’s deliberate development of a free market economy has also led to some quite challenging environmental issues. In the past 200 years they have cleared most of their forests and vegetation, resulting in massive loss of their birds and mammals.

They have literally run out of land to build on and are in the throes of land reclamation projects that will allow them to sustain their growth. Its car prices are the highest in the world, owing to a tax aimed at disincentivising car ownership and encouraging public transport use to prevent gridlock on the tiny island.

Singapore’s economic success is in part due to the leadership of a small, largely professional, number of people – they have only had three prime ministers since 1959. Heads of government ministries can earn well over a million dollars per year.

Military service is compulsory in Singapore and it is famously known that you can be imprisoned for chewing gum in the country – one follows the rules in Singapore.

But Singapore and New Zealand have long been friends.

We have had strong defence ties since World War II: New Zealand troops were stationed in Singapore up until 1989 and Singapore’s armed forces were quick to come to our aid after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

Singapore is also a significant economic partner for New Zealand – it is our seventh largest trading partner globally, our fifth largest foreign investor and we welcome more than 60,000 tourists from Singapore each year. We are now set to take the relationship to the next level with the announcement of the New Zealand-singapore Enhanced Partnership a few months ago. The agreement is what it sounds like: an upgrade of our 18-year-old free trade agreement with the island state.

But it is more than just sending goods back and forth without being weighed down by tariffs and red tape – it will strengthen our ties not just on trade but defence, cybersecurity, education, arts and culture.

It means New Zealanders can now use those handy e-gates when they arrive in Singapore and have 90 days of visa-free time. It means improved conditions for the hundreds of young New Zealanders taking part in the working holiday scheme.

It will see the development of a joint science and research programme focusing on ‘‘future foods’’ – plant-based foods that meet demand for healthy, affordable and environmentallysustainable diets.

There will be partnerships that see exchanges and cooperation in the arts and culture sector too – Creative New Zealand, the National Arts Council, Te Papa, and the New Zealand Film Commission will all see greater opportunities to collaborate.

For me, the reason this agreement is so exciting is that it stretches beyond trade and recognises the value of building relationships and sharing knowledge across a range of different sectors and in different ways.

We have seen it for ourselves at the Asia New Zealand Foundation, hearing back from artists, young people, leaders, entrepreneurs and teachers we have supported to spend time in Singapore that the experience has opened up their worlds.

We are hoping this strengthened partnership with Singapore will do the same for thousands more people now able to makes those connections in an easier way.

So if you are thinking of tackling ‘‘Asia’’ and it looks like a steep mountain, the relative familiarity of Singapore’s learner slopes may well be worth a look first.