MFA Press Statement: Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman attended the 28th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Lima, Peru, from 17 to 18 November 2016

            Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman attended the 28^th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Lima, Peru, from 17 to 18 November 2016. 

            At the AMM, SMS Maliki spoke on the issue of food security.  SMS Maliki elaborated on Singapore’s three strategies to enhance food security amidst climate change: (i) overcoming our land constraints; (ii) investing in agriculture R&D; and (iii) reducing food loss and wastage.  SMS Maliki highlighted the importance of effective domestic policies, international cooperation and free trade and welcomed APEC’s food security agenda.

            SMS Maliki also spoke on the importance of developing human capital.  SMS Maliki stressed that human capital development was increasingly important in a world of shorter skill cycles and disruptive technologies, and that there existed a need to train our peoples so that they could thrive in a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation.  SMS Maliki spoke about Singapore’s initiatives, such as SkillsFuture and the Singapore Cooperation Programme, and highlighted the importance of continued regional cooperation and economic growth.

            On the sidelines of the AMM, SMS Maliki hosted Brunei’s Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Pehin Lim Jock Seng to lunch, where they discussed regional dynamics and reaffirmed the warm relationship between Singapore and Brunei.  SMS Maliki also met with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration Rimbink Pato, and Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir.

            Separately, SMS Maliki met with youth delegates from Singapore who are participating in the APEC Voices of the Future program.  The annual programme brings together young people and educators from the 21 APEC Member Economies to share their views and engage in dialogue with APEC Leaders, officials and CEOs.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

18 NOVEMBER 2016

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28^TH APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING PLENARY SESSION 2

INTERVENTION ON FOOD SECURITY

1                 Thank you very much Mr Chairman.  I would like to focus on the topic of food security amidst climate change.

2                 Food security is becoming an ever-greater challenge for the world. The global population is likely to increase to nearly 10 billion by 2050. We will need to increase our current food production by 70 percent to meet the burgeoning demand.

3                 However, climate change impedes our capacity to produce more food. Environmental degradation and global warming will reduce the availability of fresh water and arable land. For example, about two thirds of arable land in Africa is expected to be lost by 2025 due to decreased rainfall.[1] This is further exacerbated by unsustainable agricultural practices such as slash-and-burn, which causes severe haze pollution and even higher carbon emissions. If the environment continues to deteriorate, it will be increasingly difficult to secure an adequate food supply for our people. We must work together to tackle this shared predicament.

4                 Singapore has done, and will continue to do, our part in enhancing food security. I would like to share with you some of Singapore’s strategies.

5                 First, we strive to overcome our land constraints. Singapore is a small city-state. To optimise land use, we actively seek innovative ways to sustainably maximise agricultural output. For example, Singapore promotes the use of progressive farming technologies.  We have developed an indoor vertical vegetable production system for Asian leafy greens that is potentially five times more productive than conventional farming systems. This innovative and eco-friendly system minimises land use, reduces water and energy consumption, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions.

6                 The availability of technology aside, we also encourage and support farmers as they shift away from conventional means of growing crops. The Singapore government works closely with farmers on technical extension and capability building. Farmers usually hesitate to adopt modern farming techniques due to high costs involved. To mitigate this, the government also supports them with some funding in technology adoption.

7                 Second, Singapore invests in agriculture research and development (R&D) to optimise the quality and quantity of agricultural output.  We hope that this would lead to new breakthroughs in food production both in Singapore and the wider region. For example, we have an institution called the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL), which recently launched a made-in-Singapore variety of rice called “Temasek Rice”. It is high-yielding, drought and flood resilient, and fortified against fungus and bacteria. These properties allow for stable and high-quality rice production that can withstand climate change and water scarcity. “Temasek Rice” has already found its way to Indonesia, where it can hopefully be grown on a large-scale commercial level. Such crops will help to contribute to longer-term food security for the region.

8                 Third, we continue to seek ways to reduce food loss and wastage. We believe that our people have an important role to play.  We are working to educate consumers, food manufacturing establishments, food retail establishments, and supermarkets to minimise food waste. According to a consumer survey done in Singapore last year, expired or spoilt food was listed as a top reason for food wastage in households. This could be partly due to people cooking or buying more food than they could consume, or a lack of knowledge on food planning storage. In response to this, we launched a national campaign to generate public awareness and participation in reducing food wastage. In addition, it is now mandatory for large hotels and shopping malls to report their waste data, including data on food waste recycled. We have also encouraged the development and adoption of technologies and best practices to reduce post-harvest food loss, and reconstitute by-products in food and animal feed. We will continue to identify and address other reasons for food wastage.

9                 In addition to safeguarding our food security amidst climate change, Singapore also welcomes APEC economies’ commitment to free and open trade in food, to ensure regional food security. As a small island state dependent on food imports to sustain our food system, Singapore embraces the importance of a universal, rules-based, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system. This is a fundamental enabler of food security for all. Trade distortionary measures affect production and threaten livelihoods in both food importing and exporting countries, and in both developed and developing nations.

10               Mr Chairman, Singapore recognises that food security is a common concern for us and our people. Singapore will work closely with all APEC economies to further progress in this area. Thank you.

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28^TH APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING PLENARY SESSION 4

INTERVENTION ON DEVELOPING HUMAN CAPITAL

1                 Human capital development is increasingly important in a world where skill cycles are shorter and disruptive technologies threaten the existence of entire professions. This requires a paradigm shift.  We can no longer expect that a rigorous education system alone will equip people with a high-quality skillset that remains relevant for life. The old adage ‘the only constant, is change’ indeed holds true. The iron rice bowl is gone and so is the University degree for lifetime employment. We need to change the way we train our people so that they can thrive in a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation.

2                  In this light, Singapore launched an initiative called SkillsFuture in November 2014.   SkillsFuture is a shift in our entire approach – it recognises that skills have to be learnt and relearnt continuously throughout a person’s lifetime – instilling in each citizen the value of life-long learning.

3                 SkillsFuture engages various stakeholders.  On the part of the individual, each Singaporean is challenged to take ownership of his development and career progression as the government has given every Singaporean aged 25 and above an opening credit of S$500, known as SkillsFuture Credit, to pay for or offset the cost of skills-related courses.  The government will provide periodic top-ups to the credit.  On the part of the government, we have formed committees comprising members of the government, industry, trade unions and education institutions to look into skillset development strategies for particular industries. 

4                 SkillsFuture also relies on cooperation between different stakeholders.  For instance, we developed the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme in close collaboration with industry.  This work study programme helps fresh graduates deepen their skills and transition into the workforce by acquiring experience through working in industries within their discipline of study.

5                 Regional cooperation is also vital.  Within APEC, over 120 scholarships and internships are offered under the APEC Scholarship and Internship Initiative.  This is testament to our collective commitment to build up the region’s human capital.  We should keep up this momentum.  The recently endorsed APEC Education Strategy will help guide future regional collaboration.  In addition, the APEC Education Network or EDNET is developing a Baseline Report on Current Education Status in the Asia Pacific Region, which will provide a useful means for economies to share information and learn from one another’s best education practices.

6                 As a small country with limited resources, Singapore learned early on that human capital is the most valuable and “renewable” resource in nation building.  Having benefitted from technical assistance ourselves, we established the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) in 1992 to give back to the international community by sharing our development experience and expertise.  The SCP covers a range of topics from trade and economic development, to good governance, public health and urban planning, and leadership development. Since its inception, 110,000 of officials including close to 39,000 from APEC economies have benefitted from the SCP.

7                 The SCP also provides a good platform for cooperation with fellow APEC economies to provide training to third countries.  We have partnered with fellow APEC economies such as the US, Japan, Mexico, Chile and Thailand.  Some examples of joint courses include (i) our programme with the US on building regional resilience, sustainable development, and ASEAN connectivity; (ii) our programme with Japan to strengthen regional capacities in future-oriented areas such as climate change, customs standardisation and food security; and (iii) a water resource management course under the Singapore-Mexico Third Country Training Programme. To keep pace with global trends and ensure that the SCP’s content is relevant and useful, we have added programmes to share new dimensions of Singapore’s development journey.  These include Singapore’s Smart Nation journey, our arts and heritage development, and building of community resilience.

8                 All these efforts, locally and regionally, are also small steps toward the larger Sustainable Development Goals laid down in the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.[2] 

9                 Mr Chairman, Singapore commends APEC for highlighting education and human capital development as a priority area and we will continue to support APEC’s work in this area.  Education and human capital development will only be effective with economic development to ensure sustainable growth and development. APEC must also thus ensure an ecosystem that promotes free trade and facilitate sustainable economic development.  Thank you.

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[1] Zewdie, A. (2012). Impacts of Climate Change on Food Security: A Literature Review in Sub Saharan Africa.

[2] UN SDG 4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”; SDG 8 “Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”; and SDG 9 “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable idustrialisation and fostering innovation”.