On October 2-3, 2008, The Center for a New American Security hosted the first annual Singapore-U.S. Strategic Dialogue. Led by Kurt Campbell, CEO and co-founder of CNAS, the American panel was composed of a bipartisan group of senior foreign policy advisors to both American presidential candidates as well as leading scholars and strategists.
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage (Member CNAS Board of Directors) and former Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig (Member CNAS Board of Directors) provided an excellent overview about the future of U.S. foreign policy in 2009. The Dialogue also included a distinguished panel of Singaporean guests, including Foreign Minister George Yeo, Senior Minister of State for Development and Education Grace Fu, and Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan.
Building on the success of the US-ASEAN Dialogue CNAS hosted in Singapore last year, this year’s dialogue further exposed the importance of the Singapore-U.S. bilateral relationship. Participants addressed the current and future trajectory of U.S. foreign policy in the Asian region, and continued challenges in areas such as nonproliferation and financial stability. The Dialogue also examined the potential for cooperation on several transnational policy challenges, including religious extremism, energy security, climate change, and stability in Central Asia and the Middle East. CNAS looks forward to hosting the second annual dialogue in Singapore in 2009.