Today, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago and Singapore Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Gabriel Lim held the inaugural U.S.-Singapore Partnership for Growth and Innovation (PGI) annual dialogue. The dialogue convened private sector and civil society representatives from both countries to help review PGI activities and outcomes in 2022 and to inform plans for collaboration in 2023.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong signed the Memorandum of Understanding implementing the PGI in October 2021. The PGI is a bilateral economic cooperation platform designed to secure inclusive growth for our economies and regions by strengthening U.S.-Singapore opportunities and collaboration in new and forward-looking areas.

Under Secretary Lago and Permanent Secretary Lim issued the following statement:

“Since signing the PGI one year ago, our two governments have worked together to promote commerce and trade in four pillars: advanced manufacturing and supply chain resilience, clean energy and environmental technologies, digital economy and smart cities, and healthcare.

“We have worked with the private sector to identify challenges in regional manufacturing supply chains and explored areas for collaboration to improve resilience and promote seamless trade, such as through the development and adoption of international standards. Through an Advanced Manufacturing Business Development Mission to Singapore and other countries in the region this month, our governments brought the Singapore and U.S. private sectors together to facilitate new opportunities for business collaboration. There has been positive follow-up with ongoing commercial discussions between the private sectors from both countries.

“In July, to help meet the digital, clean energy, and infrastructure needs of cities, our governments provided a platform at the World Cities Summit for information and communications technology, planning, and infrastructure companies to demonstrate their advanced technology and service solutions to Southeast Asian city leaders and prospective business partners. We, in collaboration with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, also convened an ideation roundtable focusing on energy transition in Asia at the Asia Infrastructure Forum, which brought together governments and businesses from the United States, Singapore, and the region to exchange ideas.

“Through the PGI, we have worked to jointly promote standards and rules that advance technological innovation, allowing companies and individuals to maximize the economic benefits of the digital economy, while minimizing risks. Our work together to expand membership in the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) Forum that launched in April will help facilitate the flow of cross-border data, while protecting personal information. To help women in their journeys as tech leaders and entrepreneurs, Secretary Gina M. Raimondo and Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo launched the U.S.-Singapore Women in Tech Partnership Program in June.

“In healthcare, we met with companies in September to help highlight the importance of health data transfers in promoting innovation, delivery of care, and regulatory compliance.

“In 2023, we will continue our work on expanding membership in the Global CBPR Forum, holding networking and mentoring sessions and workshops through the U.S.-Singapore Women in Tech Partnership Program, and developing interoperable artificial intelligence (AI) governance frameworks to support industry’s adoption of trustworthy AI. In addition, we will strive to deliver commercially meaningful outcomes on cybersecurity, such as by sharing information on cybersecurity labelling schemes, and digital upskilling initiatives; advanced telecommunications cooperation; supply chain connectivity and resiliency; and regional clean energy projects. We will continue to invite stakeholders and governments from Southeast Asia to participate in PGI activities as we seek to align our work with other initiatives.”

Under Secretary Lago and Permanent Secretary Lim also issued individual statements:

“Kudos to the U.S. and Singapore government teams for their expert work in developing more transparent and resilient supply chains, accelerating the clean energy transition, and using the digital economy to drive secure and inclusive economic growth. Let’s build on the success of these PGI activities while exploring additional areas for commercial collaboration in 2023,” said Under Secretary Lago.

Permanent Secretary Lim stated, “Over the past year, the PGI has brought our governments and private sectors closer together, and helped us develop a deeper understanding of potential commercial opportunities and challenges for our countries and businesses. We are committed to building on this strong foundation in the coming years across the focus areas of the PGI, especially supply chain resilience, the clean energy transition, and the digital economy. For 2023, we will continue to facilitate an environment that will catalyse the creative energies and innovative capabilities of our businesses in delivering tangible outcomes of mutual benefit to businesses, works and citizens in the United States, Singapore, and the region. We look forward to continuing Singapore’s robust economic engagement with the United States, which builds on an reinforces the longstanding and strong ties between our countries.”

Secretary Raimondo, Minister Gan, and Minister Teo have held regular discussions in 2022 on the progress of the PGI and look forward to continuing their close working relationship into 2023 and beyond.