Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations Mr S Iswaran and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority Khaldoon Al Mubarak co-chaired the 13th Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum, held yesterday.
At the Forum, Mr Iswaran and Mr Al Mubarak reaffirmed the strong bilateral economic relations that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore share.
Despite the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE remains “Singapore’s largest trading partner and investment destination in the Middle East and North Africa region, with bilateral trade amounting to S$12.8 billion in 2020” based on figures from Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Trade Statistics, 2021
Mr Iswaran and Mr Al Mubarak also announced that Singapore and the UAE would explore collaboration in the areas of technology, innovation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), space technologies and public sector partnerships.
Mr Iswaran said, “Bilateral relations between Singapore and Abu Dhabi have come a long way since the first ADSJF in 2007, and have continued to strengthen even amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As we enter the next phase of our collaboration, we will leverage the global technology trends, and focus on areas of mutual interest including space technologies, 5G, semiconductors and AI. We also discussed enabling the exchange of electronic trade documents using TradeTrust and identified new areas for collaboration in the green economy, such as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and hydrogen.”
Collaborations between UAE and Singapore
Smart Cities
Enterprise Singapore (ESG) will partner with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to encourage exchanges through joint innovation challenges and co-innovation projects. The first joint innovation challenge themed Smart Cities, co-organised and facilitated by IPI Singapore, will be launched in May 2021.
Artificial Intelligence and 5G
In the area of AI, ESG is also working with the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority to offer AI solutions from Singapore companies to the Abu Dhabi Government. An AI workshop was also conducted between the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Personal Data Protection Commission and the UAE AI Office to exchange views on key ethical and governance issues when deploying AI solutions on 18 March 2021.
On 5G, IMDA will work with Abu Dhabi corporates to feature in-market problem statements in the areas of 5G and IoT on IMDA’s Open Innovation Platform. As important technological enablers, collaborations in the areas of 5G and AI will serve as a pathfinder for Singapore and the UAE companies to better navigate the digital space.
IMDA is also keen to collaborate with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and key private sector players on the adoption of Singapore’s TradeTrust to support the exchange of digital trade documents used in trade financing.
Space Technology
Singapore’s national space office, the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn) and the UAE Space Agency also signed a Letter of Intent signalling their mutual interest to collaborate in the areas of space technologies, space law and policies as well as human capital development.
Public Sector Collaboration
To facilitate greater and more in-depth exchanges between the public sectors of Singapore and Abu Dhabi, the Civil Service College Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding on knowledge and experience exchange in current and emerging topics such as public sector leadership, governance, public administration and management, digital literacy, and wellbeing with the Abu Dhabi School of Government.