Visit by Minister for Foreign Trade of the Netherlands H.E. Mrs Lilianne Ploumen

Photo on left: (L to R) Dr Raj Thampuran- A*STAR Managing Director- H.E. Mrs Lilianne Ploumen- Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade of the Netherlands.

Minister for Foreign Trade of the Netherlands H.E. Mrs Lilianne Ploumen led a 30-member strong delegation comprising high ranking representatives from the government- business and academia (commonly referred to as the triple helix) visited A*STAR on Wednesday 23 Jan 2013.  The visit was hosted by A*STAR Managing Director Dr Raj Thampuran along with CEO ETPL Mr Philip Lim as well as representatives from NRF- NUS- NTU and AVA.  Amongst the business delegates were Mr Ronald de Jong- Philips’ Chief Markets Leader & member of Executive Board- Mr Gerben Edelijn- CEO Thales-  and Mr Peter Ter-Kulve- President of Unilever in S.E.A. & Australiasia.  A roundtable facilitated by Dr Raj and Mr Simon Smits- Director General from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was held to discuss roles of governments in promoting innovation and the roles of companies in education.  Both sides held candid exchanges and had a better understanding of the innovation strategies and policies of the two countries.  Afterwards- the delegates toured the Fusionopolis Skygarden for an aerial appreciation of the one-north development.