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While the global landscape is increasingly complex and uncertain, there remain bright spots on the horizon for Singapore as a global city, President Halimah Yacob said on Friday (Jun 9) at the 2023 S Rajaratnam Lecture, entitled "Strengthening Resilience in an Uncertain World".

President Halimah said that Singapore can continue to work with like-minded partners to advance greater economic integration and liberalisation of global trade and investment.

Moreover, Singapore can also tap on the opportunities in Asean, a region that is full of potential.

Non-Alignment

She opened the speech by paying tribute to Singapore's first foreign minister S Rajaratnam, who had set out in a speech to the United Nations on Sept. 21 1965, Singapore's path of non-alignment.

This meant not being drawn into narrow power bloc interest; but it did not mean that Singapore

"would be indifferent to issues of right and wrong or avoid taking a standing inimical to our interest for fear of displeasing bigger and more powerful countries."

But she also laid out the uncertain external environment for Singapore, at least for the foreseeable future.

She said that the "deep mistrust and intensifying strategic competition between the United States and China are having a significant negative impact on the existing multilateral trading system", from which Singapore benefited from.

She highlighted three risks that this represented:

• The risk of technological and economic decoupling and bifurcation
• Countries embracing more muscular industrial policies, by pursuing export controls in key strategic areas, as well as tax breaks and subsidies
• Businesses reorganising themselves in response, with multi-national corporations re-shoring or friend-shoring to avoid geopolitical complications.

Halimah warned that as a result, the possibility of triggering unintended consequences has become more real, giving the examples of conflict in the Taiwan strait and South China Sea, as well as increased threat of nuclear proliferation, as well as new classes of weapons such as hypersonic missiles, and cyber warfare.

"While all sides do not wish for war, a single mishap or miscalculation could easily spiral into open conflict."

The Covid-19 pandemic revealed many weaknesses in global cooperation and supply chain connectivity, with many countries unprepared, and nativist instincts making many countries turn inwards.

Recent years have also seen a rise in popular nationalism, with many countries facing increasingly divisive politics and polarisation, with politics driven by immediate and narrow interest.

Forging ahead

But after laying out the challenges faced by Singapore in its external environment, she went on to articulate how the country could forge ahead as a global city.

She celebrated Singaporeans as being increasingly recognised for their "expertise, professionalism, and commitment to promoting regional and global cooperation", saying that this reflected growing recognition that despite its small size Singapore can contribute to global solutions.

She highlighted Daren Tang and Rena Lee, the first Singaporean to head a United Nations agency, and the Singaporean ambassador who presided over the conclusion of negotiations on the "High Seas Treaty".

She also noted Winston Chow, who is the first Singaporean climate scientist to be nominated as a candidate to the bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Bright spots

Halimah also noted three bright spots for Singapore in an increasingly complex and uncertain global landscape, areas where Singapore and Singaporeans could benefit and prosper.

Working with like-minded partners

Saying that Southeast Asia was home to some of the world's fastest growing economies, as well as being a major driver of global growth and development, significant challenges due to the uncertain global situation meant that building trust, understanding, and cooperation amongst countries was more important than ever.

Halimah said that Singapore has encouraged major powers to step up engagement in the region through initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the Belt and Road Initiative.

This was joined by steps such as the signing of the Asean initiated Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and many other complimentary groupings such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement.

These have continued to grow in economic coverage to build a resilient and interlocking network of cooperation between countries across the globe

Singapore constantly seeks to expand its economic ties with key economic blocks including signing of free trade agreements with major South American blocs such as the Pacific Alliance, and MERCOSUR.

Southeast Asia is full of potential

Halimah said that Asean forms the fifth largest economy globally, with a young and dynamic population, with a fast growing urban middle class and widespread use of digital technologies.

Singaporeans should continue to tap on opportunities in Asean, especially in areas such as the digital and green economies.

Asean was also looking to deepen its cooperation in the production of clean energy and the green economy, such as the ongoing Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) power integration project which involves hydropower imported from Laos through Thailand and Malaysia, to Singapore.

The project was a significant pathfinder towards realising an Asean power grid, allowing Singapore to progress in our regional decarbonization journey while diversifying our energy sources.

Asean was also pursuing and upgrading free trade agreements with new partners such as Canada, and existing ones like Australia and China, but also playing an active leadership role in the world's first bloc to bloc air transport agreement between Asean and the European Union.

Remaining open to new opportunities and partnerships

Halimah urged Singaporeans to remain open to new opportunities and partnerships, and that Singaporeans should capitalise on the accelerated pace of growth in emerging markets around the world.

Singapore's presence in traditional markets have been cemented, but the country should not rely on any one market or region, and being available to new relationships was important to maintain economic prosperity and sustainability.

She noted many opportunities for collaboration in new markets such as health-tech, agri-tech, transport and logistics, and urban solutions.

The Singaporean government would also continue to support efforts by Singaporeans and home grown businesses to venture into these markets; and establish economic ties with emerging economies; giving the example of her recent visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as an example of one of these efforts.

The government would also enable deeper sectoral cooperation through various government-to-government collaborations, such as launching the Financial Trust Corridor with Ghana and Rwanda, which aims to facilitate the secure exchange of documents between the countries' financial institutions and businesses, making it easier to secure financing for ventures into these two countries.

It was important to equip Singaporeans with the skills and knowledge to take advantage of these opportunities, with the government providing schemes from the Ministry of Trade and Industry and SkillsFuture Singapore, as well as the Enterprise Sustainability Programme, to support Singaporean workers and companies.

"Despite the sharpening of geopolitical rivalries, and temptation to turn inward in an increasingly uncertain world, we must continue to cast our gaze wide, working together to face current global challenges for the  sake of our future generations

Conclusion

In conclusion, Halimah reiterated three points.

First, the primary task of Singapore's foreign policy is to safeguard and advance Singapore's national interest. The country's survival depends on making friends and establishing close relations with the rest of the world in pursuit of common interest.

Second, Singapore is a global city with an open economy, and depended on a functioning and effective multilateral trading system, which is now under tremendous strain; but there remain many opportunities to work with like-minded partners to expand trade in business ties and venture into new areas of growth.

Finally in order to be able to protect and advance Singapore's interest internationally, Singapore needs to be strong, resilient, and cohesive, so that its voice matters when it speaks.

"This is not solely the work of policymakers and diplomats. All Singaporeans have a part to play in making Singapore strong, stable, and cohesive."

The 13th S Rajaratnam Lecture is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

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