MFA Press Statement: Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry, Dr Tan Wu Meng's Visit to Paris, France to attend the OECD Southeast Asian Regional Programme Forum, 11 - 12 March 2019

Senior Parliamentary Secretary (SPS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry, Dr Tan Wu Meng visited Paris, France from 11 to 12 March 2019 to attend the OECD Southeast Asian Regional Programme Forum.

Given the theme of “Connecting Southeast Asia”, participants at the Forum discussed ways to promote greater connectivity in Southeast Asia. SPS spoke at two sessions to an audience comprising Ministers and high-level representatives of ASEAN and OECD countries.

At the High Level Panel session, SPS spoke about the importance of upholding the rules-based multilateral trading system, and how its effective functioning provides a conducive environment for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to thrive in an increasingly inter-connected world. SPS also profiled the vital role played by Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) in helping the government better understand and serve the needs of our SMEs.

At the session on “ASEAN Connectivity: Opportunities and Challenges of Implementation”, SPS highlighted Singapore’s 2018 ASEAN Chairmanship deliverables relating to the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025), as well as how we sought to improve the MPAC 2025 implementation process.

SPS also had a bilateral meeting with OECD Secretary General Ángel Gurría, during which they discussed the OECD’s cooperation with Singapore on a wide range of areas including on the OECD’s Programme for International Assessment (PISA).

While in Paris, SPS met French Minister of State reporting to the Minister for Europe and Foreign AffairsJean-Baptiste Lemoyne. SPS reaffirmed our strong bilateral relations and thanked Minister of State Lemoyne for France’s steadfast support for the EU – Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA), which will benefit businesses in both countries.

SPS also delivered the opening speech for the DeepTech France-Singapore Workshop, which highlighted Singapore’s value proposition as a hub for DeepTech startups in Asia. In addition, SPS separately met with representatives from French think-tanks to discuss developments in Europe, and French business organisations to profile the role of Singapore as a gateway to enter the ASEAN market.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE 

14 MARCH 2019

SPS and OECD Secretary General Ángel Gurría.

SPS and French Minister of State reporting to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.

SPS speaking at the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme Forum.

SPS meeting representatives from French business organisations.

SPS meeting participants of the DeepTech France-Singapore Workshop.