JEDDAH: The Consulate General of Singapore celebrated the golden jubilee of its country's independence with much fanfare at a hotel here on Thursday.

Syed Muhammad Raziff Aljunied, consul general of Singapore, welcomed the guest of honor Lawrence Anderson, ambassador of Singapore, and his wife Maureen, diplomats, Singapore community and others on the occasion.

Aljunied said this year is special as the 50th National Day is celebrated. “We look forward to many more celebrations in Jeddah. This year’s attendance is by far the largest with more than 200 guests.”

Anderson said: “2015 has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride. It began with great expectations after the Lonely Planet (largest travel guide book publisher in the world) voted Singapore as the best place to travel in 2015. However, in March, we were jolted by the passing away of Lee Kuan Yew (the country's founder prime minister),” he said.

The evoy said the Singapore spirit was on display at the Padang on Aug. 9 — the 50th National Day. “There is much to celebrate when you grasp how far we have traveled from the uncertain days of 1965, but it was also a time of sombre reflection, a final goodbye to our founding father and the passing of the torch to the younger generation.”

"The message of the country's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is a reminder that every Singaporean needs to play a role in writing the next successful chapter of the country's history,” he added.