First Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow from Latin America will visit from Jul 28 to Aug 1

SINGAPORE - The first Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow from Latin America will visit Singapore from Jul 28 to Aug 1, 2014. Mr Ricardo Schaefer, Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil, will be here as the 45th Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow (LKYEF).

Established in 1991, the LKYEF programme invites outstanding individuals for high-level exchange visits to Singapore. The Fellows are chosen on the basis of their proven track records or extraordinary potential to contribute to the development of their nations as well as promote international understanding and goodwill.

While in Singapore, Mr Schaefer will call on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, and Senior Minister of State of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of National Development Lee Yi Shyan. Mr Schaefer will also have meetings with the Economic Development Board, International Enterprise Singapore, the Housing and Development Board and JTC Corporation.

Prior to his current appointment, Mr Schaefer was the Deputy Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. From 2007 to 2010, he served first as the Director of Planning and Management, and later as Vice President, of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).

Mr Schaefer was Chief of Staff to the President at the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development and Executive Secretary of the National Council for Industrial Development from 2005 to 2007. From 2003 to 2006, he was a member of then-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's transition team, where he played an important role in the establishment of the Ministry of Tourism.

spanaech@sph.com.sg