In the delightful world of newspaper columnists, the rule of thumb is that a successful column should include some news, some analysis and some opinion, all rolled into one.

Today I offer only some impressions after a three-day stay in Singapore that included two university seminars, travel around the city, and discussions with colleagues, professors, students, journalists and a particularly endearing Indian silk merchant on Arab Street who sold me all sorts of things that I really did not need, but that I bought nevertheless because the encounter was such a pleasure.

After 45 years of being a newspaper reporter, columnist and editor, I have learned that first impressions are significant, because they tend to hide deeper realities. My first impressions in Singapore confirm one of the issues that colleagues and I have been discussing in Beirut for some years: We need to engage more with people, institutions and values in East and Southeast Asia. There are many reasons for this, including the sheer human bulk of this region that accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s population and the economic wealth and influence it exerts, especially in China.

While I was happily discussing the value of silk tablecloths and scarves and other significant things with my new partner in rhetoric and trade at Dilip Textiles shop in Arab Street, our transaction of just under $100 was a blip on the global economic radar screen. Yet it generated immeasurable satisfaction in our two little worlds.

I noticed the same day that perhaps the two most important people in the global economy were meeting nearby for their own talks. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met in Beijing Thursday, where the Chinese leader said that China was considering “more participation” in the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism, both critical in efforts to contain the potential fallout from the European financial crisis.

I followed the news with a sense of satisfaction that the Chinese are being consulted more closely on this and other issues, such as the situations in Syria and Iran. I say this because the Western and Middle Eastern worlds that I inhabit clearly can learn much from East and Southeast Asian societies and cultures.

The most striking thing that I take away from Singapore is the combination of two related phenomena: the sustained economic growth and well-being of the population, and the almost mathematical manner in which inter-ethnic relations are managed. The dominant Chinese ethnic community and the smaller Malay, Indian and Anglo communities exist quite harmoniously, because they have all benefited from sustained economic growth and an orderly society that provides them with their basic rights.

Singapore also allows them to assert their ethnic identity (by teaching their languages in school, alongside English, or proportionally allocating new state-subsidized housing units to all groups), rather than forcing everyone to adopt to a common Singaporean identity that does not necessarily capture one’s cultural sentiment.

Had Singapore been a poor society riddled with corruption and nepotism, inter-ethnic relations would have been more strained. The country’s experience suggests that focusing on citizenship rights in a context of economic expansion and the rule of law is one good way to minimize ethnic or sectarian tensions.

The other critical asset I noticed was the very high quality of Singapore’s human talent. I came away impressed with the capabilities of the professionals I met, but also with the quality work and positive attitudes of those working in more basic contexts – hotels, taxis, shops and restaurants. Investing in human capital is the foundation for any national success in other areas, like economic growth or racial coexistence.

The combination of self-confidence and commitment to quality work at every turn in my encounters with Singaporeans was striking. Discussions on the democratizing experiences of countries in the region, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, opened new avenues of analysis and learning for me. I left Singapore with much to ponder about the lessons we can learn from this region’s national development experiences, far beyond the Western world’s tendency to relate to East Asia primarily in terms of its economic clout.

Angela Merkel can handle that side of things, I thought to myself on my way back to Beirut, with a head full of new ideas, a nice group of new friends, and more silk scarves from my Indian merchant pal than I can consume in several lifetimes, to our mutual glee.

Rami G. Khouri is published twice weekly by THE DAILY STAR.