Foreign experts can help Singapore be among the top 10 nations in the global artificial intelligence (AI) race, but the Republic also has to develop local talent to meet its needs, the father of Israel's booming cyber-security industry told The Straits Times.

Retired Israeli major-general Isaac Ben-Israel, who sits on the board of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research, said the country has the advantage of being small and nimble, with a leadership that can move things "very quickly".