Diplomatic Network (Asia) hosted its August networking lunch on Thursday at the Hai Tien Lo restaurant in Pan Pacific Singapore, where guests were treated to a spread of sumptuous Chinese dishes.
The hotel’s general manager, Melvin Lim, warmly greeted everyone.
During the welcome speech, DNA expressed its gratitude to Pan Pacific Singapore for sponsoring its recent event on food security.
Lim praised the organization of the forum and commented on the excellent participation of all the panelists, as well as the engaged response from the audience.
Distinguished guests
The guests of honor for the month were Costa Rican Ambassador to Singapore Victor Rojas; the head of mission of Estonia, HE Priit Turk, and Kazakhstan’s ambassador, HE Askar Kuttykadam.
Also present as a guest was Jeremy Choong, founder and chief scientist of JayVoxx Holdings, an AI consultancy and accelerator company. Choong is considering joining DNA as a member.
In addition to his consultancy business, Choong is involved in the coffee distribution sector.
Costa Rican coffee and cultural conversations
He explained that his company operates an end-to-end full vertical operation, from farm to bean to cup. They supply roasted coffee to both B2B channels and B2C platforms like Lazada and Shopee.
Coincidentally, Costa Rican beans are one of the main varieties they work with, and Ambassador Rojas was seated next to him at the dining table. Coffee, one of the most important agricultural commodities, is taking markets by storm, and coffee tasting has become a major cultural practice worldwide.
Other DNA members present included Heny Chen from the insurance sector; Han from travel company EU Holidays; Andreas Kraemer, the general manager of Intercontinental Singapore; and Annette Heitman, the founder of wine company Message in a Bottle and a member of the South African Chamber of Commerce.
Interesting topics were discussed around the table, including the possibility of promoting the countries represented there as travel destinations, the developing cigar and rum culture among Singaporeans, vodka consumption in places like Estonia and Kazakhstan, and the origins of the renowned Panama hat. The upcoming visit of His Holiness Pope Francis next month and the mass to be held at the National Stadium was also a topic of discussion.
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