UAE | General
Singaporeans gather for 43rd National Day
Members of the Singapore community living in the UAE celebrated their 43rd National Day and built relations between both countries on Friday night.
- By Marten Youssef, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:02 August 10, 2008
- Chen, (right), Dr Ahmad D. Jaffar, (2nd right), Assistant Professor of Enterprise Systems at UAE University and other guests during a cake cutting ceremony to celebrate.
- Image Credit: Abdul Rahman/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: Members of the Singapore community living in the UAE celebrated their 43rd National Day and built relations between both countries on Friday night.
More than 200 Singaporeans dressed in red and white cheered, sang Happy Birthday, took their nation's pledge of allegiance and celebrated the young country's stand for equality and progress.
Close-knit community
At 8pm on the eighth month of the eighth day of 2008, the group did a countdown sending a recorded message to a news agency in Singapore. The celebration coincided with the national day being officially celebrated in Singapore on August 9.
Up until March 2008, there was no Singaporean Embassy in the UAE and since the establishment of the embassy, economic ties between both countries have rocketed.
"Many from the UAE want to study our systems. We have a reputation for excellence and hard work," head of the Singaporean mission, Low Pit Chen, said.
Singapore is known for its diversity and expedient development.
"This is not just a celebration of our National Day but also we are celebrating the great ties with the UAE.
"There are striking similarities between the UAE and Singapore," Chen added.
The closely-knit community was brought together for the first official celebration in the UAE.
Share this article
Popular in UAE
-
Your pictures
Readers' pictures
A Selection of the best Gulf News reader pictures this week
