1. Introduction

In a press conference following the first meeting between foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 2009, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan summed up the growing trade ties between the regions with, “You have what we don't have, and we have plenty of what you don't have, so we need each other.” By this, he was referring to the abundance of energy sources in the Arabian Gulf and the agricultural potential of Southeast Asia. Indeed, growing concerns over energy and food security have been a prominent topic in the discussions, which took place about a year after the global food crisis of 2007-2008. Given the fact that Gulf Arab countries imported 80% of their staple foods at a cost of $20 billion in 2008, they have shown an increasing interest in Southeast Asia's fertile farmland. Conversely, Southeast Asian countries continue to demand more energy resources such as oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to facilitate their economic development plans. While the meeting did herald a start to accelerating exchanges between the two regions, it is important to take into account existing developments that have contributed to this milestone.

Understanding GCC-Singapore relations is interesting in this regard as Singapore does not fit neatly into this ‘food for fuel’ arrangement, but has nevertheless played a significant role in facilitating this inter-regional exchange. Unlike its Southeast Asian neighbours, Singapore only covers a land space of 710 sq km, has no natural resources, and was historically a highly water-stressed nation. Nevertheless, within the past 40 years, Singapore has leveraged on its strategic location, adopted pragmatic development policies, and has emerged as one of the most highly industrialised East Asian nations. As such, despite being a “little red dot” on the map, the Singapore story has demonstrated how great things come in small packages. It is therefore not natural resources that Singapore has to offer the Gulf Arab region, but rather its wealth of human resources and expertise in various sectors to facilitate economic – and more importantly – human development. Conversely, while the Gulf Arab region has been an important source of fossil fuels for Singapore, the increased interest from the Middle East will help to sustain Singapore's economic growth and development, primarily by providing a range of business and investment opportunities for Singaporeans.