Until a mere four years ago, Singapore and Russia shared only a nodding acquaintance. Geography and western media, slanted and biased more often than not, were the main culprits. Luckily, in today's Singapore, myths about Russia are being dispelled, stereotypes are being broken and a great many heads have recently turned towards the biggest country in the world. Behind this shift in awareness is a wise state official from Singapore who is genuinely in love with Russia and believes in diplomacy through culture. Meet Ambassador Michael Tay, Founder of the Russia-Singapore Business Forum and Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat.

By Yasmine Yahya 

Russia dwarfs Singapore in terms of size and population but the country's leaders think there is much to learn here in areas from public housing to infocomm technology.

The Russian government is keen to learn more about the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Tuesday.

"They are trying to move away from a system of assistance across the board," Mr Tharman, who is also Finance Minister, said on the sidelines of the Russia-Singapore Business Forum.

"So (they are interested in) a system of targeted assistance for those in need, especially in health care and other areas, as well as our system of allowing people to own homes through the CPF."