Cross-border collaboration key: Forum

To attract the sizeable investment needed in the shift to more sustainable energy sources, governments have to pave the way through cross-border agreements that provide regulatory and legal clarity and a long-term road map, senior government officials and business leaders from Singapore and Indonesia said at a business forum here yesterday.

The green transition is also an opportunity for the two close neighbours to jointly develop a regional grid for renewable energy, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.

At the forum, which saw topics like healthcare, digital transformation and sustainability discussed, Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the Group of 20 will establish a new fund to support international initiatives to prepare for the next pandemic.

Indonesia would be ready to treat Covid-19 as endemic later this year, barring new variants, its Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told The Straits Times in an interview.