Transcript of Remarks by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting, Apia, Samoa, 24 October 2024

1.                 Excellencies, friends and colleagues, talofa. Let me start by expressing my appreciation to Samoa and Her Excellency, Prime Minister Mata’afa for the warm hospitality, and for so ably chairing this meeting.

2.               I come from a tiny state in Southeast Asia. 53 years ago, Singapore hosted the first ever Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1971. I was just re-reading the speech of my Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew from that time. In the early 1970s, it was not a completely pacific time. There were geopolitical issues confronting the Commonwealth,  including apartheid in South Africa. We were also worried about the emergence of trading blocs and the impact of rising tariff barriers on global trade and development, especially for less developed countries.

3.                 Fast forward 53 years, some things have changed; many for the better, but we do face significant threats and challenges. The first is a world with hot wars in Europe, in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and there are some tensions in the Pacific. We’re also confronting existential threats like climate change. We’ve emerged from a global pandemic, but we know that that is not the last, and that the next may be even more severe. So the point is, 53 years later, we are still facing existential and major challenges.

4.                The question we should ask is how the Commonwealth can contribute to resilience, given the situation we face. We believe this is critical, because more than ever before, we need a rules-based multilateral system that provides the basic infrastructure, the undergirding and foundations for peace, security, growth and development. Regretfully, recent violations of international law have made the world a more dangerous place, especially for small states. The ongoing war in Ukraine, in our view, represents a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter, because if big countries can turn to their smaller neighbours and say “we need to redraw boundaries” with the use of force, this sets a very dangerous precedent. So we do need to restore respect for international law and the UN Charter, even when it is not always the most convenient for us on a specific issue.

5.                 Related to that, we must support international and multilateral institutions, in particular, the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As the principal judicial organ of the UN, we believe it is indispensable. We need to uphold the rule of law and to encourage the peaceful settlement of disputes. In this context, I am proud to announce that Singapore will be nominating our Ambassador for International Law, Ms Rena Lee, as a judge for the ICJ in the 2026 elections. This is the first time that Singapore has nominated a person for elections as an ICJ judge, and she will, in fact, be the first lady candidate from Southeast Asia, ever. Many of you may know her; she is a veteran of international law and she has served as a legal advisor, diplomat and international negotiator. Many of you will also know her for successfully presiding over the negotiations of the BBNJ Treaty, which has been signed and is now open for ratification.

6.                 The next point is to explore opportunities in which we can work together on new technologies, and in particular, Artificial Intelligence (AI). We believe this is poised to bring widespread transformation in many areas, including healthcare, in disease detection and diagnoses, in finance, for fraud detection, and risk management. In the case of Singapore, we’ve also created the world’s largest digital twin, a 3D replica online of our entire country, down to every single building, every single structure and even topography down to the level of millimetre resolution. The technological approach is something we would be happy to share, because I think these would be useful and applicable in all your respective countries.

7.                 We believe there are many ways in which AI innovation can contribute to public good and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. I know the UK is concerned with AI safety. We share that concern, and we need to make sure that AI innovation moves in tandem with safety and inclusivity, in order to improve resilience for all of us. Singapore was one of the first countries to articulate AI governance principles in 2019. We called it the Model AI Governance Framework, and we believe that it is important to have guardrails, even as we exploit opportunities from AI. We will regularly review and adjust this framework to reflect the emerging concerns and especially the technological developments from new forms of generative AI. The updated model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI was launched in May this year. We would be happy to share these frameworks and to contribute to the global discourse on AI governance, and in particular, to raise the capacity and training opportunities for members of the Commonwealth, especially for smaller states who otherwise lack access to these tools and methodologies.

8.                 In closing, let me again thank Samoa for bringing us all together, and to reflect on one final point. If you go back a century, during the time of the British Empire,  there used to be Commonwealth Imperial Preferences.^[1] I’m not making an argument for the restoration of the imperial side of it, but surely, if the more than 50 of us can commit to lowering trade barriers, to closer economic integration, to sharing technology and a collective commitment to improving our resilience, the Commonwealth will find increased and renewed salience, and in that respect, please keep open the possibility of a free trade area for the Commonwealth.

9.                 Thank you.

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[1] This was a system of mutual tariff reduction enacted throughout the British Empire as well as the then-British Commonwealth.