Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong underlined four areas to further strengthen cooperation between the Sultanate and Singapore ranging from food security, renewable energy to working together in global and regional forum to amplify “our voices on the international stage and promote more people to people exchange.”
In his special lecture ‘A Partnership for All Seasons’ at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) yesterday, Lawrence Wong said food security is an area where we are natural partners.
“Brunei has abundant land natural resources while Singapore imports almost all of our food. We import seafood products from Brunei and recently Singapore also accredited the Sultanate as a new source for egg supply. More can be done in areas such as processed beef, poultry and agritech research and development that benefits the Sultanate in diversifying its economy and to provide Singapore with an additional source of food imports,” he said.
“Beyond food, we can also explore other areas of resilience, in particular strengthening our preparedness in pandemic and outbreak of diseases,” Lawrence Wong said.
He added: “Brunei and Singapore seek to achieve carbon neutrality and net zero carbon emission by 2050 and achieving this goal will not be easy as it requires massive restructuring and transformation. We have shared interest in working together and exchange best practices and Brunei has the potential to scale up the deployment of renewable energy, especially in solar.
“As small countries, we should work together in global and regional forum to amplify our voices on the international stage. We had always collaborated closely in ASEAN and we should push continually for greater ASEAN integration. One way is by deepening digital connectivity in Southeast Asia by advancing the ASEAN digital framework agreement as we can benefit from better infrastructure linkages in the region such as in transport and power grid connection.
“A strong and united ASEAN will give us the best chance to secure continued peace, stability and prosperity for all of us and for the region. Globally, our shared strategic outlook also makes our countries natural partners in many international platforms. We should work together to sustain and strengthen rules based on international order.
“We can also find ways to update multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank so that they are better equipped to deal with global challenges.”
The event proceeded with a question and answer session and a high tea reception hosted by the PMO.
Minister at the PMO and Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Singapore Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Minister (Civil Service Governance) at the PMO Dato Seri Paduka Mohd Riza bin Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yunos, Deputy Minister (Security and Law) at the PMO Dato Seri Paduka Haji Sufian bin Haji Sabtu, Deputy Minister (Energy) at the PMO Haji Mohamad Azmi bin Haji Mohd Hanifah and Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy (Economy) Dato Seri Paduka Haji Khairuddin bin Haji Abdul Hamid attended the event. – Azlan Othman
