Andrey Bykov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Deputy General Director of Trading House RSDS LLC. Author of more than 50 publications. Areas of expertise: international relations in Central Asia in the 18th–20th centuries, and modern relations between Russia and the EAEU countries with the ASEAN countries.

Kirill Solntsev, PhD student at MGIMO (Department of Economic Policy and PPP). Area of ​​expertise: PPP projects, doing business in Southeast Asia, artificial intelligence technologies.

The authors presented their own point of view on the regulation of the processes of formation and functioning of the image of Singapore in the international arena as a global trade, financial, logistics and technological hub and a "safe haven" for foreign companies and a prestigious place of work for professionals. The image is formed as a result of purposeful, systemic activities of responsible government agencies, acting in many ways similar to the departments of large business corporations. In addition to the formation of a positive brand, information flow control mechanisms are used, including the “muting” of certain topics in the international media. The positive image of Singapore makes a significant contribution to the economic development of the country and the well-being of its citizens.

The Republic of Singapore is a unitary city-state located on islands in Southeast Asia, separated from the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula by the narrow Strait of Johor. As of January 1, 2017, the area of ​​Singapore was 719.9 km². Despite the fact that its size is gradually increasing due to the reclamation program, Singapore is one of the smaller countries in terms of territory. Currently, the country consists of 63 islands. Singapore is a maritime country. It is connected to the mainland (Malaysia) by two main artificial routes of communication: the Singapore-Johor Dam in the north and the "Second Connection" in the west (between Tuas in Singapore and Tanjung Kupang in Johor).

As of November 24, 2019, the population exceeded 6,110,000 people. The number of labor migrants in the country is about 1.7 million people. Since 2014, population growth has been less than 2% per year. The main ethnic groups are Chinese, Indians and Malays. The official language is Malay, the common language is English. In terms of English proficiency, Singapore is ranked 5th in the world. Both the fact that Singapore was a British colony and the decision of the first Prime Minister to introduce compulsory education of all children in English affect.

Singapore is a highly developed country with a semi-authoritarian system of government. Throughout the period of independence, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP, PAP - People's Action Party) has absolute political power. Moreover, the current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the son of the first Prime Minister, the founding father of the nation, Lee Kuan Yew. Opposition parties get into parliament, but their weight is minimal, and they are not able to make any decisions even in a coalition.

Singapore is a parliamentary premier-presidential republic. The prime minister is the de facto head. It becomes the leader of the party that won the election. In total, there are about 20 parties in Singapore. Throughout the history of an independent state, the leader of the People's Action Party has become the head of the Republic of Singapore. The lowest percentage of voter support since the 1980s, the MHP scored in 2011, when it was 60.13%.

For the city-state there is no problem of electoral activity of the population. Participation in elections is compulsory for citizens of Singapore. Persons who did not take part in the voting without a valid reason are excluded from the lists of voters and must pay a fine upon re-registration.

The President, formally being the head of the executive branch, performs more representative functions, although he has the right to accept the resignation of the head of government, pardon those sentenced to death, approve the country's budget, and a number of other powers. In the uncontested elections of 2017, a woman became the President of Singapore for the first time - Halima Yacob, who had previously been the speaker of the country's parliament. By the way, according to the laws of Singapore, only one who has the necessary public service experience in senior positions, or who heads a company with a capitalization of more than 100 million Singapore dollars, can become the President of the country.

The country is focused on the foreign market and is literally "open to the world". It occupies a leading position in the rankings of ease of doing business, technology leadership, visa-free priority and many others:

- ease of doing business (Doing Business Report by World Bank, 2019) - 2nd place in the world;

- the level of economic freedom (Index of Economic Freedom, 2019) - 2nd place in the world;

- competitiveness of the economy (The Global Competitiveness Index 4.0, 2018) - 2nd place in the world and 1st place in Asia;

- development of high technologies and the Internet (WEF Global Information Technology Report, 2018) - 1st place in the world;

- the level of well-being of citizens (The Global Competitiveness Report, 2018) - 3rd place in the world;

- human capital index (The Human Capital Index, World Bank, 2018) - 1st place in the world;

- e-government development index (UN, 2018) - 7th place in the world;

- a country with the best conditions and opportunities for women who want to succeed in business (Index of Women Entepreneurs, 2019) - 8th place in the world;

- the level of the tax system (PWC) - 5th place in the world;

- three main international education rankings Pisa (2019) - 2nd place in the world;

- global ranking of ease of paying taxes (2019) - 7th place;

- rating of the International Institute for Management Development (Lausanne) of the competitiveness of the countries of the world (2019) - 1st place.

Singapore has a tax regime with a whole system of incentives aimed at attracting international investors: duty-free transfer of profits and repatriation of capital, investment guarantees, exemption from tax on interest on bank deposits for foreign nationals temporarily residing in the country, exemption from double taxation. In order to attract foreign investment and stimulate economic growth, the Government of Singapore reduced the corporate tax rate for several years in a row - from 40% (1947-1987) to 33% in 1988, 32% in 1990, 31% in 1991, 30% in 1992, 27 % in 1993 and 17% since 2009. In general, the Government of the country is doing everything to attract investment from abroad. It is no coincidence that there are branches of more than 3.5 thousand of the world's leading companies, and more than 120 transnational corporations have their regional offices here.

Singapore is attractive to investors because of its low tax rates. In total, there are 5 taxes in Singapore, of which one is income tax, one is payroll tax. The total tax rate does not exceed 27.1%.

The stability of the Singapore economy can be judged by the following indicators. Singapore's gross domestic product at the end of 2018 amounted to 364 billion US dollars (an increase over the year - 40 billion). GDP at PPP for the same period was estimated at $571.69 billion. In terms of GDP at PPP per capita, Singapore ranked 4th in the world at the end of 2018 ($101,387 per 1 inhabitant). Foreign direct investment as of June 1, 2019 - USD 39.9 billion. Export - 43.9 billion, import - 40.1 billion US dollars (as of October 1, 2019). The core inflation rate in October 2019 was 0.00%. The unemployment rate in September 2019 was 2.3% of the working population, well below the frictional level. The average monthly salary of an employee in June 2019 was 6005 Singapore dollars or about 281 thousand Russian rubles, the annual increase was 253 Singapore dollars.

The economy in the last three decades has a pronounced innovative character. Spending on research is comparable to spending on science in the US, Switzerland, Japan and other highly developed countries. 17 Singaporean companies are included in the world top 200, almost all world leaders in the field of high technologies and innovations are represented in Singapore. Investments in innovation activities have increased by 18% in the last 3 years alone.

In everyday life, Singapore is often compared with a big company, and the success of Singapore as a state is associated with corporate principles laid down by the founding father, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, which are observed to this day, and a positive image of Singapore after his death helps to shape his descendants and successors. Like Henry Ford or Stephen Jobs, he laid the foundations of a successful corporation that is one of the leaders and pioneers in its industry, boasts one of the highest ROI (return on investment) and conducts a successful marketing policy around the world. Surprisingly, attempts to analyze the "Singapore miracle" through the prism of "corporatism" are extremely rare. The press considered such aspects as talent management and recruiting, motivation of civil servants according to achievements (as in business), as well as building a vertical of power and state structures of the state by analogy with large business structures.

The Republic of Singapore, first of all, has the characteristics of a classic international Western corporation - this is the procedure for selecting the "board of directors" (members of Parliament) through the voting of shareholders and the top management of the country (ministers). As in a corporation, elected officials have a high income. For example, the current Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, can receive an annual income for the performance of his duties higher than most leaders of other countries, including the United States. Like representatives of corporate top management, city-state leaders are regularly re-elected and must ensure the proper level of satisfaction of all shareholders (Singapore citizens) in order to maintain their position.

At the same time, it is impossible not to note the key difference between Singapore and companies - this is the limitation of each shareholder to one share that he owns - one vote. In this case, it is impossible to buy even a minority stake in order to increase your influence on decisions made at the state level. Interestingly, the shareholders of Singapore receive not only care and work from their "employer", but also direct dividends. For example, most recently a national referendum was held to decide whether to spend a year's government surplus on investments in further economic development or on a one-off payment to "shareholders." As a result of the voting, all funds were evenly distributed among the citizens of Singapore.

Like any modern corporation, Singapore's government marketers run a well-thought-out and systematic advertising campaign for their country. Around the world, Singapore has a positive connotation, and "employees of Singapore's other competitors" dream of working in this city-state. Lion City has become a place of attraction for the world's best minds like Google, has become an aggregator of international trade and the largest logistics seller like Alibaba. The wealth of Singapore residents has been one of the highest in the world over the past few years, and living conditions allow it to regularly enter the international rankings of the best countries, cities, and destinations. All this can be attributed not only to the merits of the country's operational managers, but also to PR specialists, marketers - "sellers of Singapore", people and structures responsible for shaping and promoting a positive image of the country, inside and especially outside the country.

If Singapore can be compared to a corporation, then agencies and government entities such as Enterprise Singapore and Passion Made Possible, a subsidiary of the Singapore Tourism Board, can be compared to sales and marketing departments. .

The first are virtuoso sellers who know their business and have in their arsenal a wide range of companies, technologies, goods, originally from Singapore. The Business Development Agency, or briefly ESG, has an extensive network of offices around the world, with headquarters in charge of the regions: the European central office in London (UK), the Middle East - in Dubai (UAE), the American - in New York (USA). ), African - in Nairobi (Kenya). One of these representative offices is located in Moscow (Russia), supervising the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. It is the Moscow office of ESG that is the responsible conductor and generator of a positive business image of Singapore in the post-Soviet space.

All offices work on the principle of sales departments in companies. According to the established target performance indicators (KPI), a promotion strategy and approaches are developed, a line of flagship products and technologies of Singapore production is selected, and the target audience is identified. After that, systematic work is underway to commercialize the results of Singapore's internal activities. The country's authorities approach the export of Singaporean technologies, goods, services with great care and diligence, despite the small size of the state itself and the relatively modest scale of the "product line".

If ESG acts as a key seller for export, then a friendly structure to the country, also subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Singapore, namely the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), attracts business to the country. Its task is to attract additional resources, technologies, investments and any kind of investments and investments to Singapore from outside. In essence, the EDB is a one-stop-shop entry point for anyone who is willing and able to help Singapore develop and at the same time make money on it, or at least secure their capital.

It is this agency that oversees a number of government programs that have made it possible to attract a pool of foreign high-tech companies. In 2019, EDB identified 3 areas of government programs aimed at creating a positive image among businessmen and managers around the world:

Growing Industries program;

the program "Innovation, Research and Development of Opportunities";

productivity programs.

The first direction is responsible for stimulating the creation and preservation of intellectual property in Singapore; provides for financial incentives for priority sectors, as well as individual highly specialized sectoral measures, such as, for example, the simplification of financial leasing in the aerospace industry.

The second direction is subsidies and grants for research work that companies from all over the world carry out in Singapore. At the same time, the level of protection of intellectual property is at a high level. For example, when attracting talented researchers to PhD research grant programs, universities stipulate that they will receive up to 50% of all commercial income from inventions that will be made by a doctoral candidate in the course of working on his dissertation.

The third direction aims to increase the productivity of enterprises registered in Singapore in various ways. For example, by subsidizing industrial facilities in order to modernize them and improve energy efficiency.

In order to involve all economic actors in the long-term development of Singapore for more than 30 years (much earlier than it became popular in other developed and developing countries), this amazing city-country began to regularly develop master plans for the economic development of both the country as a whole and and industries separately, which made it possible to give an understanding to the Singaporean population, business, civil servants, where the country is heading, what the leadership is striving for and how it will achieve positive results in the future for several decades. Such long-term programs are linked to medium- and short-term programs focused on sectors of the economy or on individual industries. For example, in Singapore there are development plans for 25 years and five-year plans, which are so familiar to Soviet people.

One of the key programs of recent years, which, along with political stability, increases, from the point of view of most international companies, clarity and confidence in the economic development of Singapore, has become the state strategy "Roadmaps for Industry Transformation" . Serious financial and technological resources from all over the world are attracted for these programs. Industry transformation maps are grouped into 6 clusters, divided in turn into 23 sectors: engineering; construction; trade and communication; basic services; professional services; lifestyle, etc. 23 transformation maps were created – across 23 industries and sectors of industry and services in Singapore – not only to address issues in each industry, but also to deepen partnerships between government, firms, industries, trade associations and chambers. The total volume of investments attracted under these programs amounted to 4.5 billion US dollars.

The government of Singapore is making a titanic effort to create the image of the world's leading digital state, the best Smart City and the country of the future. The scientific community, through the channels of the expert community, strengthens and gives new qualitative characteristics to this image. In addition to increasing the export potential and increasing the value of the Singapore brand, this allows us to solve many other problems. For example, the HR-tasks of the city-state, attracting promising most talented professionals from the outside, not only with high salaries, but also with a prestigious job, as well as address issues of international diplomacy and maintain warm relations with transnational corporations.

In order to appear as the main digital state, of course, real technologies are being implemented, but in addition to this, a serious targeted PR campaign is being conducted. Digital literacy in the country is taught from kindergarten, and secondary education is considered (and is) one of the best in Asia and in the world. This is the training of personnel for the state-corporation inside. To motivate generations Y and Z give symbols understandable to young people. The most popular and "advanced" innovations are used as them. For example, the thesis is predicted and actively promoted that by 2050 Singapore will be 50% provided with electric transport. An air taxi is already being tested here and unmanned taxis are already moving around the city center on a regular basis (not in the format of a pilot project!).

Singapore aims to build its own digital competencies and plans to export them in the future. The government is allocating billions of dollars to digitally transform the economy and secure its future global competitive advantage. Here are both innovations and advertising that shape future consumer demand. As mentioned earlier, state (national) agencies and technology parks provide advisory support to firms at all stages of their development. Companies that are ready to take part in testing infocommunication technologies receive additional funding. For example, government agency A*Star will assist 400 companies in identifying technology that will enable them to strengthen their position in the market. In addition, the Tech Access program will provide access to advanced prototyping and testing tools.

Specific examples include projects to allocate special zones for developers of unmanned vehicles, in which they can test their technologies, teach digital literacy to children through the startup Jules, and many others.

About 2/3 of Singapore's GDP is generated by external demand. In recent decades, the country's authorities have made adjustments in economic policy to help the country adapt to changing international conditions. The country is currently facing the challenges of weak global growth, changing supply chain structures and rapid technological change. The strategy of the national agencies, in particular, suggests working with like-minded partners to promote the ideas of trade liberalization, including less traditional markets. Growth markets are attracting the most attention and Singaporean companies should focus on developing closer ties with Southeast Asia, China and India. At the same time, they are closely following and expanding cooperation with African countries, countries of the post-Soviet space.

Singapore's Smart Nation initiative was officially launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on November 24, 2014. This program perfectly fits into the concept of creating the economy of the future, which was mentioned above, and to a certain extent is a tool for its practical implementation. The initiative thundered around the world and became one of the best government marketing stories in the world. The adoption of the Smart Nation strategy has turned Singapore into a pioneer in the integrated implementation of end-to-end technologies in the daily lives of citizens in order to increase the comfort, safety and efficiency of their lives and activities.

The developers of the Smart Nation initiative plan to turn the city into a testing ground for innovative technological systems to solve urban problems, such as the creation of "smart" cars, complex telemedicine projects, etc. In fact, Singapore can be compared to a huge testing ground. One of the main tasks at the same time is to simplify the life of citizens, given the extremely high population density. The first step towards urban renewal is to install a network of smart sensors throughout Singapore. Priority specialists of the program are engaged in solving the problems of housing, healthcare and optimization of the transport network.

One of the key factors influencing the specific development of Singapore is the peculiarity of its geographical location, including its compactness. In a city-state, the government does not need to coordinate technology development policy with the leadership of various regions. The purpose of Smart Nation is to show how the cities of the future will function. While it can be challenging to spread test ideas around the world, Singapore is building a base that can be adapted to any region. The Singapore government plans to make the data open to everyone, as well as regularly engage independent experts to assess the security of the system being created. Business owners and residents of Singapore do not see a big problem in the development of the initiative: in their opinion, giving relevant data to the state is no more dangerous than transferring personal information, for example, to Google, especially within the rules and principles established and observed by all parties.

Among a wide range of social groups (target audiences), the key role in the PR of Singapore as a "garden state" is played by the Singapore Tourism Development Agency and its "daughter" organization Passion Made Possible. Singapore is one of the few countries whose advertising billboard can be seen in a small airport on one of the Greek islands, and a colorful spread in one of the Arabic magazines. Singapore pursues a purposeful and consistent policy to promote itself as the best place on the planet, the center of concentration of all the most talented and fun, as an island of success and opportunities for those who are used to achieving success by honest work.

The first to start promoting Singapore in the international arena (in fact, to the global market) was the first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The apogee of his advertising campaign to create a positive progressive image of Singapore in the world, in our opinion, was the publication of his autobiographical book, tells about the history of the creation and development of Singapore - "From the Third World to the First", which, by the way, became a bestseller and a clear example of Singapore's identification with quality standards, systematic development and skillful combination in a bipolar world (with all the anti-communist orientation of the country's ideology) principles " capitalist" free market and "socialist" planning. And besides, in a certain sense, being a costly promotional product, it also brought income from the publication itself, which was repeatedly reprinted in many languages ​​by a variety of publishers.

After Lee Kuan Yew, the positive image of Singapore continues to be shaped by the books of his descendants. An example of such a publication is the book by his daughter Li Wei Ling, published in Singapore in 2015 and 2016.

As noted above, Singaporean profile agencies use a wide range of advertising platforms - from BTL advertising in the form of billboards, magazines, leaflets, to online content inbound marketing. For example, various contests and activities for foreigners are generated, which unobtrusively emphasize the advantages of Singapore. And that in itself becomes a separate business. Higher and business education can be successfully exported abroad with sufficient marginality for large businesses, both in the format of attracting students, as well as visiting professors and exporting elements of the education model. Now similar projects are being implemented both at the level of school and at the level of secondary vocational education.

The external image of the country is formed through the purposeful formation of the image of a technological, financial, logistics hub, and in recent years also a cultural center of ASEAN. In the conditions of the most severe shortage of raw materials, the country seeks to develop high-tech production and form international cooperation chains, receiving high margins, including as an integrator. And the positive image of the country allows them to be. To act as such an integrator, among other things, allows a stable image of a financially stable technologically developed city-state. One of the pillars of the outward-oriented economy is the education system. Moreover, it is recognized that the system of secondary education, with high competition between students, is one of the best in the world. Vocational education, especially ITE, has been in the top 3 in the world for the past 5 years. The two largest universities - NUS and NTU are consistently in the top 100 of the world university rankings. Nanyang Technological University is one of the best technical universities in Asia.

The leading universities in Singapore - Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore - and the universities of the second cohort (Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Technology and Design, etc.) are actively promoted by the country's leadership and are considered (and are) among the best in the world. Higher education institutions in Singapore attract venerable foreign professors, the most promising teaching methods are introduced, and it is important that the pool of marketers package this into attractive offers for their potential clients from all over the world.

Singapore's main mouthpiece is the English-language daily The Straits Times, which is owned by Singapore Press Holdings and has specialized in news content since 1845. Over the past decades, the newspaper has grown into a major multimedia holding, becoming the main Singaporean media, carrying a positive image of Singapore and the agenda needed by the Singaporean authorities to the outside world.

Like any company, the departments responsible for marketing in Singapore have a few taboo topics that can only be discussed in passing, and rather as part of the decision of the internal agenda, but certainly not brought to the world review.

First of all, we are talking about the death penalty. Not without reason, the article “Disneyland with the death penalty” published a couple of decades ago made so much noise around the world. It was in this publication that a fact that was not particularly discussed earlier was highlighted - the presence and non-unique use of capital punishment in Singapore. In general, this is undoubtedly a manifestation of the general authoritarian control over the situation in the country. And, although Singapore is positioned as a country of democracy and innovation, and a positive image of Singapore is being prioritized in the international arena, security and order are always the key issue on the domestic agenda. This is also manifested in high fines, serious punishments for breaking the law, especially if something threatens a person's life. At the same time, the state cares about its image, so punishments are not advertised outside, rarely mentioned in the news and analytical materials oriented to the majority of foreign target audiences.

A forbidden topic for discussion abroad is also the relationship in the political elite of the country - in the party leadership as a whole, and in the family of the current prime minister, and the first prime minister, given that he was the father of the current one. There are reports in the local Singaporean press from time to time that tensions have developed between the two sons of Lee Kuan Yew, there is information about a dispute over how to use the house of the first de facto head of state, however, in the international media, the topic is deliberately omitted and muffled, as it is believed that focusing attention on them contradicts the formation of a positive image of a politically stable state, where everything is thought out for many years to come.

In the context of globalization - and Singapore's economy is its direct embodiment - the country is gradually changing its role and status in the international political arena. If several decades ago Singapore was anti-communist, anti-Chinese, pro-British and pro-American, now everything is far from being so simple and unambiguous. No, Singapore has not abandoned cooperation with the West; rather, the country has become more and more aware that being East does not mean having a bad external image, often the opposite.

Recently, Singapore has been positioning itself in the outside world as a convenient neutral platform for top-level negotiations on the most difficult issues.

Singapore is a member of ASEAN and is the capital of APEC. The country initiated the creation of the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership and is integrated into a number of other international associations. The country's prestige in the international arena is now eloquently evidenced by the fact that countries that have the prospect of economic growth are compared with Singapore.

Singapore positions itself, among other things, as the coordinator of dialogue relations between ASEAN and China, and in this matter strives to "be an honest mediator, open to all parties" .

So, on November 8, 2015 in Singapore, at the Shangri-La Hotel, a meeting of the leaders of China and Taiwan was held. Xi Jinping and Ma Yingjiu were able to identify common ground and possible options for cooperation. One of the journalists called an article about this meeting "Two Chinas met in the third", hinting that the vast majority of Singapore citizens are ethnic Chinese. However, the Singapore authorities did not seek to become a platform for negotiations only for the Chinese-speaking states and the countries of Southeast Asia. At the beginning of the third millennium, the Government of the Republic of Singapore began to position the country as a convenient venue for negotiations of third countries. Singapore often acts as a meeting place for seemingly irreconcilable rivals or enemies.

On March 7, 2018, South Korean Presidential Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong handed Donald Trump a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In it, the North Korean leader invited the US President to hold talks on the DPRK's nuclear program. Trump accepted the invitation two days later. And already on June 12, 2018, the leaders of the United States and the DPRK held a meeting in Singapore. In addition to moving forward the issue of curtailing the nuclear weapons production program in North Korea, other agreements were also reached. For example, the DPRK's relations with South Korea, Japan, and China have been improved. According to media reports, Singapore spent $12 million on the meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un, mainly to ensure the security of the summit.

In August 2018, in Singapore, in parallel with the meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers and their partners, EU diplomat Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed the issues of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program. In November 2018, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met to discuss the so-called northern territories, the disputed section of the Kuril chain, which was ceded to the USSR following World War II. The solution of this question is put by the Japanese side as a condition for concluding a peace treaty.

Why is Singapore taking on the role of negotiating platform for third countries? Undoubtedly, to increase their own foreign policy influence, to demonstrate domestic political stability to external partners considering options for economic cooperation, as well as to ensure security guarantees from potentially unfriendly countries. And also in order to demonstrate to investors from all over the world: Singapore is a "safe haven" for your capital. The unrest that began in Hong Kong significantly strengthened Singapore's position as the financial center of Asia, and capital outflow from Hong Kong began here.

At the same time, Singapore quite harshly makes it clear that it does not support protest moods, thus implicitly supporting the PRC government. In addition, Singapore cracked down hard on attempts to stage pro-Hong Kong protests in Singapore by Hong Kong people. Moreover, despite cooperation with transnational corporations, the Singapore government insisted on removing from the press all materials about the support of Singaporeans for speeches in Hong Kong, negatively reacted to the adoption in the United States of the "Human Rights and Democracy Act in Hong Kong 2019" (Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019), having simultaneously secured from Google that, contrary to the general policy of its own company in the world, it completely banned political advertising in Singapore. Someone sees this as a manifestation of authoritarianism. However, it is equally important that Singapore strives to create an image of a place that is absolutely safe. Initially, this manifested itself in the fight against corruption, and Singapore is one of the recognized global leaders in this matter. Then it began to manifest itself in the form of countering all kinds of terrorist threats. Now the image of an island of absolute internal political stability is being formed, where an alternative in the format of color revolutions or manifestations of separatist aspirations is impossible.

Some changes are also taking place in domestic politics. Despite maintaining the course with the demonstration of the Singaporean civilian nation, there is a gradual departure from the non-recognition of a significant part of the population by the Chinese. Perhaps one of the main reasons for this recent shift has been the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, initiated by Singapore. For Singapore, due to its geographical location and minimal resource base focused on the external market, this was a serious blow. Although Singapore has maintained a neutral stance, trade wars have taken a toll on economic policy. And here it is difficult for Singapore to remain neutral. It can be called positive neutrality towards the PRC. Moreover, in recent years, China has become the main foreign economic partner, the main investor in Singapore, and the main country where Singaporean companies invest.

Even the foreign policy tension caused by the conflict over the Spratly Islands, where the PRC takes a tough stance, does not affect the dynamic development of relations between the PRC and the Republic of Singapore. There are options for military cooperation between Singapore and the People's Republic of China. Thus, in November 2019, an international anti-terrorist exercise of the ASEAN countries and their dialogue partners began in China. And Singapore sent its military to China. By the way, Russian servicemen of the Eastern Military District also took part in the exercises.

It seems that cultural identity has a certain influence on the positive development of relations between companies from mainland China and companies headed by Chinese representatives from Singapore. In our opinion, the opinion of E.V. Novikova that the Singaporean hua-qiao have their own characteristics from the hua-qiao in other countries, and yet they still remain representatives of the Chinese diaspora.

Moreover, Singapore began to support the One Belt - One Road initiative, from which it had previously distanced itself. Participation in infrastructure projects, especially those related to transcontinental routes, is one of Singapore's traditional priorities. Therefore, he is also attentive to the prospects for the development of the Northern Sea Route. Moreover, equatorial Singapore became an observer in the international Arctic Council, and its candidacy was supported by all participating countries, including because Singapore has strong competencies in infrastructure development and logistics, as well as due to its positive image in the outside world. In the same vein, the ongoing conclusion of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements should be considered, one of which, by the way, was the FTA agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, signed on October 1, 2019 in Yerevan.

A year before the signing of this agreement, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, described its significance as follows: “This document can become the starting point for a similar agreement between the EAEU and ASEAN, which will create a common market with a population of 780 million people and a total GDP of more than 6.6 trillion US dollars, as well as deepen integration between our regions. The significance of the FTA is not limited to numbers: its creation will emphasize the importance of free trade against the backdrop of growing protectionist sentiment and confirm Russia's interest in interacting with the states of Southeast Asia.

In the past few years, Singapore's economic growth rates have decreased from 7-10 to 2-4%, at the same time, for a highly developed economy, these rates are sufficient to maintain their status.

The expansion of relations between Russia and Singapore seems very promising, since our economies are not so much competitive as they are complementary. Moreover, Singapore can become the "gateway to ASEAN" that will expand trade and economic relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and even the entire Asia-Pacific region. The FTA agreement opens up additional opportunities for this. And Russia is already trying to use the new foreign policy and foreign economic landscape.

The number of Russian companies or companies with Russian participation in Singapore exceeded 500. At the initiative of the Russian-Singapore Business Council, with the support of the Rostec State Corporation, the Center for Foreign Promotion of Russian High-Tech Companies and Presentation of Investment Projects was opened in Singapore. Interaction has intensified not only at the level of large and medium-sized enterprises, but even at the level of start-ups.

Singapore acts in relation to Russia in a similar way. The United National Agency Enterprise Singapore has a representative office in Moscow and has stepped up its activities in the EAEU countries in recent years. Moreover, Singapore has become one of the most important (and in 2016 even the largest) foreign investor in the Russian economy. Moreover, investments are made not only in the development of the raw material base, but also in infrastructure projects, the creation of an FTA, the production and processing of agricultural products, construction and other industries. The fact that in the short and medium term the parties expect a significant expansion of trade and economic relations is evidenced by the fact that the vice-premiers of the two countries are co-heads of the High-Level Intergovernmental Russian-Singapore Commission.

In summary, we can assume that Singapore will continue its orientation towards the outside world from the position of a “neutral” country developing a multi-vector foreign policy. In the economy, ties with China are likely to grow. At least in the short term, anyway. All this will to a certain extent affect the brand of the state of Singapore in the external environment. However, from the point of view of the government and most citizens of Singapore, such a change in the perception of the external image of Singapore will not give its image a negative connotation, and even increase its attractiveness for a significant part of the world's population. The EAEU and, first of all, Russia is considered as a potentially important partner, but not a first-level partner.

The structure of the state, in many respects similar to the structure and functioning of a large corporation, allows Singapore to be more flexible in its approach to changes in the external and internal environment, adequately respond to challenges and form the image and needs of the outside world about Singapore as a city - the dream of a globalized future, a technological leader, Singaporeans - as a “smart nation”, territories as an island of calm. This image itself brings both political and economic dividends, and economic priorities almost always prevail over political ones.