In a move set to advance the UK and Singapore’s leading positions in cyber security, connectivity, and AI, two significant Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed during the visit of the UK Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, to Singapore.
The meeting with Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information, Josephine Teo, marked Dowden’s first international tour since his appointment last year.
The agreements, which pledge to deepen research and regulatory cooperation, underscore a mutual commitment to lead new advances in government use of data and emerging technologies.
The MoUs were brokered between the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information, and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office.
Deputy PM Dowden lauded the transformative potential of emerging technologies, like AI, saying: “By cooperating on research, regulation, and our experience of how we use them in government, we can deliver better and more efficient public services.”
He further stressed that these agreements would bolster the UK and Singapore’s global leadership in technology and significantly enhance mutual trade and investment.
Echoing Dowden’s sentiments, Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information, Josephine Teo, commented that the MoUs underscored the alignment between Singapore and the UK on many issues pertaining to the digital economy and emerging technologies.
She emphasised the tangible benefits for businesses and citizens that these agreements promise to bring.
These agreements represent an extension of the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement signed in February 2022 and the 2020 UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
They are expected to strengthen cooperation on new tech and use of data, thereby bolstering the £11.4 billion per year services trade between the countries.
The MoU on Emerging Technologies stipulates sharing experiences of constructing new telecommunications infrastructure, promoting business partnerships on AI, identifying ‘trustworthy’ use of AI, aligning technical standards for the use of AI, and conducting new research between the UK National Health Service and Singapore’s National AI Office.
The MoU on Data Cooperation pledges to increase digital trade, establish a new strategic intergovernmental dialogue on data regulation, protection, and international transfer of data, share research on using data to enhance public services and economic growth, work on new standards for publishing anonymised government datasets, and share best practices on data management.
Together, these agreements symbolise a concrete step towards consolidating the UK and Singapore’s roles as global leaders in harnessing data and emerging technologies.
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