One of the most remarkable stories of a nation's rise from rags to riches in the annals of humankind is that of Singapore. It started poor, at its nascence as an independent State, half a century ago. Since then has forged ahead in leaps and bounds, to transform itself from a third world to a first world country, within the life-time of a single generation. A key factor in this episode has been the hugely positive role of its leadership, the guidance imparted to the people by Lee Kuan Yew, and thereafter by his successors. Henry Kissinger had described this magnificent band as "cold blooded" in their analysis of the global environment. The response of a former Foreign Minister George Yeo was: "we had to be; having to scratch out an existence within rather tight margins, we could not afford to be subjective or sentimental in our world view". Lacking resources of its own, Singapore used its strategic location to its best advantage in linking up to the world. It used good governance as a method to promote domestic progress and prosperity through an appropriate mix of policy and practice, to a level sufficient to attract and engage the rest of the globe.

Today the fourth-generation of such leadership, popularly known as "4 G" is poised to take over. The "4 G" is led by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, a former Finance Minister, reputed for his sharp intellect and enormous dedication. He is due soon to take over as Prime Minister after the incumbent, Lee Hsien Loong, following the next elections, expected to take place in a few months' time. Heng is now leading the charge to make Singapore the world's first 'smart' city, an aspiration which appears to be on the way to being fulfilled. As a czar of Singapore's domestic economy, his achievements have been laudable. Now he is out to gather the kind of global support necessary to buttress the policies at home. To that end, he was in India recently. In course of that visit he had also met and interacted with another visitor to that country from neighbouring Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. One point of this essay is that any resultant rapport would redound to the advantage of both Bangladesh and Singapore.

Be that as it may, to achieve the goal of converting Singapore into such a 'smart' nation, the '4 G'- leadership has drawn up a comprehensive plan. It includes plugging into the economy of the rising Asian gia, China, and drawing as much advantage as possible from the latter's rapid development and prosperity. An overwhelming majority of Singaporeans are of Chinese origin. But Singapore provides a laudable example of a situation where the diasporic origin of the people does not necessarily drive policy. In order to achieve its own perceived national interest Singapore has learn to live distinct from, and yet in concord with, this rising global superpower. Unsurprisingly there is a great deal of bilateral cooperation. But they are studied, circumspect and seen to be mutually rewarding.

Heng is currently in China as this goes to press, heading a group of senior '4 G' leaders to chair the 15th Joint Council for bilateral Cooperation. The idea is to "scale new peaks' in ties with China, at the same time focussing on collaboration in smart cities, addressing the contemporary trends of rapid urbanization and digitalization. In 2009 Singapore had become the first Asian country to enter into a comprehensive bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China. In 2015 negotiations to 'upgrade' it began. The upgradation now takes into effect, after eight rounds of talks, allowing for more petrochemical products to qualify for preferential treatment and granting Singapore companies greater access to China's legal maritime and construction services sector. Also covered are investment protection, trade-facilitation, e-commerce, competition and environment.

In all, this time, nine agreements were signed. But there are three joint-projects that comprise the king-pin of cooperation. One is the 25- year old Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) project, which has now evolved from the initial construction to a new phase where Singapore brings in more services, and intellectual property management to support globalization of Chinese companies. The second concerns Tianjin Eco-city. It now has 8200 registered companies, 100,000 living and working in an area of 30 sq km, developing into a smart city with pilot projects like autonomous public buses and smart car-parks. Both China and Singapore wish to replicate this in other countries participating in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which in South Asia, for instance, should theoretically include, Pakistan m, Bangladesh and Nepal. The third is the newest, the Chongking Connectivity Initiative, which would associate Singapore with the BRI. The purpose would be to link China's less developed western region with the rest of the world, with Singapore supplying financial services, aviation and internet technology. All are said to fit the 'win-win' criterion and description. So, the Chinese support to Singapore's aspirations will be appropriately returned by Singapore's contribution to China's further rise.

A noticeable aspect of the Singapore story has been the acceptance of its colonial past. It includes using to its fullest advantage its skill in the English language to secure for itself a leg-up in the age of the fourth industrial revolution. Interestingly, despite the composition of its population from Chinese, Malay and Indian roots, the ruling Peoples' Action Party opted to choose for its modern founding figure the person of an Englishman, Sir Stamford Raffles. The name stands for all that is 'gold-standard' today in this island nation. The Statue of Raffles is what Singapore has in lieu of America's Statue of Liberty. It is not that the modern-day Singaporean subscribes to any romanticized conception of colonialism. It is only that he or she is pragmatic, wishing to convince investors, including from the old colonial cultures, that their capital is safe, Singapore is a stable nation, very mindful of its past, but more so of its future!

There is much to learn for all, including us in Bangladesh, from Singapore.

Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury is Principal Research Fellow at ISAS, National University of Singapore, former Foreign Advisor and President of Cosmos Foundation Bangladesh