Singapore and the United Kingdom will work more closely to facilitate digital trade between the countries by signing three Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in the areas of Digital Trade Facilitation, Digital Identities and Cybersecurity. The partnership will make digital transactions by businesses easier, safer and cheaper.
Singapore has been working with like-minded countries to advance a global digital architecture that is open, inclusive, interoperable and secure. In this regard, I am pleased to sign these MOUs with a digitally-progressive partner like the United Kingdom, to further strengthen the links between Singapore and the UK in digital trade facilitation, digital identities and cybersecurity. Such partnerships enable businesses in both countries to seize opportunities in the growing digital economy as we seek to recover from the pandemic.
– Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity
These MoUs will further support opportunities to grow digital delivery of cross-border services between the UK and Singapore, provide a basis for working closely with like-minded digital partners, and help set a global benchmark on high-standards digital cooperation to bring economic and societal benefits to both countries.
The MoUs will also support the shared goals and key tenets of the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, which seeks to promote trusted, robust and connected digital markets for people and businesses. The agreement will establish rules to enable trusted cross-border data flows and ensure high standards in data protection.
These partnerships in the areas of Digital Trade Facilitation, Digital Identities and Cyber Security between Singapore and the UK will strengthen the digital connectivity between our countries and will support the shared goals and key tenets of the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), where negotiations are ongoing and targeted for conclusion in the near-term.
Under the Digital Trade Facilitation MoU, the countries will share knowledge and implementation of pilot projects in areas such as electronic trade documents and invoicing. This will help drive the development and adoption of digital trade facilitation solutions at a bilateral and international level.
Benefits to the digitalisation of trade include improving accessibility for small and medium-sized enterprises to engage in cross-border trade, among other things. The sharing of best practices will also influence the creation of secure global supply chains and interoperable digital ecosystems
Under the Digital Identities Cooperation MoU, Singapore and the UK will work more closely to develop mutual recognition of digital identities between the countries. The MOU is an important step in the route to achieve interoperability of digital identity regimes between different jurisdictions, which can allow for more reliable identity verification and faster processing of applications, among other things.
The Cybersecurity MoU acknowledges the shared vision between the UK and Singapore in maintaining the economic and social benefits of open, peaceful and secure cyberspace. The two countries also acknowledge their common interest in addressing the international challenges and promoting bilateral collaborations to strengthen cyber security.
The MOU will build on strong existing cyber cooperation between the UK and Singapore in seeking opportunities for collaboration in areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT) security, promoting cyber resilience and capacity building. As cyber security underpins the digital economy by promoting secure digital trade, the MOU will also build on existing workstreams between the UK and Singapore to build secure and resilient cyberspace for businesses and consumers.
Singapore and the UK have been collaborating in many fields, including the digital economy. As reported by OpenGov Asia, Singapore and the UK will officially launch negotiations concerning the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, which will include establishing rules to enable trusted cross-border data flows and ensure high standards in data protection. The partnership will benefit consumers and businesses from both countries.
