Over the last two months, the Government of Singapore has signed a series of digital and green economy partnerships with Malaysia, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom. These agreements aim to strengthen bilateral cooperation and foster collaborations in areas such as trade, cross-border data flows, and digital knowledge exchange, while promoting the decarbonization of economic activities through strategic frameworks that reduce greenhouse gases and increase the transparency in carbon markets. The newly signed partnerships serve as extensions of long-standing agreements such as the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement and the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park, between Singapore and its partners. Involved governments are expected to work closely with their private sectors, both large enterprises and small innovative firms, to implement various aspects of the agreements, aiming to increase mutual investments and capacity building activities.
Forging such deals can enable a deepening ties between Singapore and its partners by catalyzing job creation, free trade, interoperable policy frameworks, cooperative projects, and climate action, and at the same time, encourage digital economy alliances within the ASEAN. Considering that these partnership agreements are the first of its kind for Malaysia and the United Kingdom, Singapore is at the forefront of the global transition to a digital and green economy. The Green Economy, a pillar of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, focuses on supporting businesses and its workers in developing innovative and sustainable solutions through private sector and international diplomacy.
