MFA-MTI-SNPO Joint Press Statement: Roundup of Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Trade and Industry Ms Sim Ann to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Switzerland, 17 to 20 January 2017

                   Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-In-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Trade and Industry Ms Sim Ann attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, from 17 to 20 January 2017.

                   Minister Balakrishnan participated in wide-ranging discussions on, inter alia, governance in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Singapore’s Smart Nation and future urban mobility initiatives, energy security and resilience, the security framework in Asia, and the future of ASEAN.  He also attended two Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders sessions on responsive and responsible leadership in a multipolar world and agile governance for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where he shared the key message that policy makers must invest more in our people, transform our education and training platforms, upgrade our digital infrastructure, and have the self-confidence to keep open societies and promote free trade in a world facing uncertain and anxious times.

                   On the sidelines of the WEF Annual Meeting, Minister Balakrishnan met, amongst others, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo, Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Susana Malcorra, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende, and Indian Member of Parliament Kamal Nath.  Minister Balakrishnan reaffirmed the warm bilateral ties and exchanged views on pertinent global and regional developments with them.  He also caught up with his WEF hosts, Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab and Managing Director Philipp Rösler. 

                      SMS Sim participated in discussions on sustainable energy innovation, globalisation, digital economy, and China’s role in the global economy.  She also represented Singapore at the Informal World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Gathering, hosted by Swiss Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann.  The meeting discussed potential deliverables for the upcoming 11^th WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017, as well as the importance of safeguarding the multilateral trading system in light of the weak global trade growth and rising protectionist tendencies.

                   On the sidelines of the two meetings, SMS Sim met Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshinao Nakagawa, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol, and WEF officials.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
SMART NATION PROGRAMME OFFICE
SINGAPORE
21 JANUARY 2017