Singapore is continuing to work with counterparts in Australia to advance joint digital interests, with Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong seeing “a lot of opportunities”.
Speaking after the 13th Singapore Australia Joint Ministerial Committee meeting, Gan referenced the Singapore-Australia Digital Economy Agreement (SADEA), signed in 2020, as continuing to provide a framework for digital collaboration between the two countries.
The SADEA covers eight domains including AI, e-invoicing, digital identity and data innovation.
Gan said the SADEA had become a “pathfinder for many bilateral as well as regional collaborations” in the area of digital.
“We will continue to explore how we can collaborate … on a digital side to bring benefit to our both countries,” Gan said.
He also said that Singapore and Australia have “several programmes ongoing” around innovation and research and development (R&D).
“Enterprise Singapore has set up several global innovation alliances around the world, including Australia, to encourage small and medium enterprises to embark on innovation as well as collaboration with one another to better understand the market needs and to do product development,” Gan said.
Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell said that Australia had a “very progressive agreement with Singapore in the digital space”.
Joining Gan in the Singapore delegation was Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, and their Australian equivalents.
Unsurprisingly, cybersecurity was also a topic of discussion at the meeting, according to an official communique.
The Ministers “underscored the value of their close bilateral and regional cooperation on cyber security issues, including in international cyber discussions at the United Nations,” the communique stated.
“The Ministers called for global adherence to the UN framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
“They also acknowledged the importance of countering the threats of foreign interference as well as disinformation and misinformation.”
