Singapore will continue to uphold trade links, strengthen connectivity: Chan Chun Sing

SINGAPORE will continue working with like-minded partners to uphold and update an open and inclusive global trade architecture, said Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday.

In addition to developing digital economy and free trade agreements, Singapore will re-establish its Covid-disrupted links with the rest of the world, and strengthen other dimensions of connectivity - digital, financial, regulatory, talent and technology - to emerge stronger from the present crisis, he added.

Mr Chan was speaking at the 2020 Milken Institute Asia Summit, which is taking place from Dec 8 to Dec 10. Over 1,100 global leaders and executives are expected to attend the hybrid online-physical event, which will blend virtual and holographic components with an in-person event at Marina Bay Sands.

In his opening remarks, Mr Chan called for an open, interconnected and interdependent world economy, the need for which he said had become "even more pressing" during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It is only by working more closely together that we can overcome the common challenges ahead together," he said. "It is in this spirit that we are committed to ensuring open supply chains from early in the pandemic, and refused to impose export restrictions for our own benefit but to the detriment of others."

Mr Chan also outlined the government's domestic economic priorities and industries of focus. "We will help our businesses and workers to pivot to new and emerging industries and jobs. Our priority is to enable our workers to secure future jobs ahead of disruptions," he said.

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"We will grow a new generation of businesses to seize new opportunities, in new technological areas and new markets, enabled by the digital transformation. Advanced manufacturing, bio and med-tech, agri-tech, autonomous vehicles and a new generation of green technologies will be our new focus areas."

The minister assured attendees that Singapore was neither waiting for Covid-19 to blow over, nor seeking a return to the old normal, but that the Republic was seeking to "chart a new course" and reimagine the future, "before the future calls on us and passes us by".

Over the next three days, other speakers at the summit's 50 panels will include government and business leaders such as Brazil's Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, as well as the chiefs of KIC, Gojek, Trip.com and Banyan Tree Holdings, among others.