SINGAPORE - A new multimillion-dollar fund to support green companies, a digital shipping corridor, and plans to boost food trade are among several initiatives to further strengthen Singapore-Australia ties.
The new A$20 million (S$17.8 million) co-innovation fund, launched for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), aims to drive collaboration between companies from both countries for green products and services. Enterprise Singapore and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will contribute equally to the fund.
Over the next four years, SMEs from both countries can tap the fund if they collaborate in green growth sectors such as renewable and clean energy, sustainable agribusiness and food, or waste management.
On the maritime front, a Singapore-Australia Green and Digital Shipping Corridor will be established by the end of 2025, as the authorities from both sides work with relevant parties to decarbonise and digitalise the shipping industry.
Some initiatives being looked at include establishing low and zero-carbon fuel supply chains, and finding digital shipping solutions that will facilitate efficient port calls and the flow of goods.
The new plans were announced at the 8th Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting held at the Istana on Friday.
Established under the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the meeting is a key platform for the prime ministers of both countries to discuss bilateral cooperation, and exchange views on regional and international developments.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Acting Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that both countries have a clear alignment of objectives when it comes to creating a cleaner, greener future and resilient supply chains.
“(The alignment) will provide many opportunities for the private sector to collaborate. We cannot achieve all that we want through government collaboration alone; we also need the private sector to play the role,” added Mr Wong.
He was standing in for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who has Covid-19. Mr Albanese said he spoke to PM Lee on Thursday and wished him a speedy recovery.
The Australian Prime Minister is on a three-day working visit to Singapore from Thursday to Saturday. He is also the keynote speaker at the 20th edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue, which starts on Friday and ends on Sunday.
The initiatives discussed at the Istana build on the previous 17 joint efforts that were announced under the landmark Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement, which was signed at the last Annual Leaders’ Meeting in October 2022. Mr Albanese had met PM Lee in Canberra then.
Another key announcement from this year’s meeting: guiding principles and a work plan have been finalised for the Food Pact, which both prime ministers had previously agreed to work on at the last meeting.
The Food Pact aims to increase the trade of food products and promote Singapore as a trans-shipment hub for Australian food products. It also includes cooperation on global food security issues such as regional biosecurity, future foods and sustainable agriculture principles.
The Singapore Food Agency and the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry are also developing a set of protocols to improve trans-shipment flows of Australian food products, such as meat and meat products, through Singapore.
At a lunch following the joint press conference, Mr Wong pointed out that the fish on the menu – perch – was imported as fry from Australia and grown in an aquaculture farm in Singapore. Australian wine was also served.
Apart from trade relations, both leaders also spoke of the strong people-to-people ties between the two countries, particularly through tourism and the arts.
Mr Wong noted that in the first quarter of this year, some 250,000 Australians visited Singapore – the third-largest group of short-term visitors here. Meanwhile, Singaporean tourists are the fifth-largest source for Australia.
Mr Albanese added that people-to-people links have “grown in extraordinary ways”, with an estimated 18,000 Australian expatriates in Singapore, and some 10,000 Australian students and tourists who are in Singapore at any one time.
He called the meeting “constructive” and said he had a “fruitful” one-on-one with Mr Wong. They exchanged views on key regional and international geopolitical developments.
Mr Albanese said: “Now more than ever, our friendship is underpinned by trust, respect and a shared vision for a region that is open, stable and prosperous.”
Earlier in the day, he called on President Halimah Yacob and also had a new orchid hybrid, the Dendrobium Anthony Albanese, named in his honour.
