Working Visit of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang to Iceland, 15 to 18 October 2025

Minister of State (MOS) for Foreign Affairs and for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang visited Reykjavík, Iceland from 15 to 18 October 2025 for the 2025 Arctic Circle Assembly (ACA). Singapore has attended every session of the ACA since its inception in 2013, as part of Singapore’s ongoing engagement of the Arctic region.

In her speech at the Opening Plenary session titled ‘Melting Arctic – Asian Futures’ on 16 October 2025, MOS Gan highlighted Singapore’s efforts in research, climate mitigation and adaptation in response to the impacts of climate change, including due to Arctic warming. She also emphasised the importance of multilateral cooperation, including in the Arctic Council, in co-developing innovative solutions to address shared environmental challenges. The transcript of her speech is appended.

On the sidelines of the ACA, MOS Gan met Iceland Minister for Foreign Affairs Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Arctic Circle Chairman Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, and Arctic Circle Polar Dialogue Chair Katrín Jakobsdóttir. She also held separate meetings with representatives from other Arctic States, including Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs State Secretary Maria Varteressian and Canada Parliamentary Secretary Rob Oliphant. They discussed developments in the Arctic, and avenues for deepening multilateral and bilateral cooperation on Arctic matters.

MOS Gan departs Iceland for Singapore today. 

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

18 OCTOBER 2025

OPENING REMARKS BY MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY GAN SIOW HUANG

AT THE PLENARY SESSION OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE ASSEMBLY ON MELTING ARCTIC – ASIAN FUTURES

16 OCTOBER 2025

Chairman Grímsson,

Excellencies,

Arctic friends,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1 I am delighted to be in Reykjavik for this year’s Arctic Circle Assembly (ACA) for the first time, and would like to thank Arctic Circle Chairman Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson for this invitation. The theme of this Plenary session – Melting Arctic, Asian Futures – reminds us that what unfolds in the Arctic reverberates across the globe. As the world faces deepening fragmentation and uncertainty, the need for collective efforts to tackle this existential threat has become more salient.

2 The statistics are sobering. In recent decades, the Arctic has warmed at nearly four times the global average, with accelerating ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica now contributing about 25% of global sea level rise.

3 The impacts of accelerated Arctic warming are felt far beyond the Arctic, including in geographically distant regions like Asia. Singapore is one-degree north of the Equator and thousands of kilometres away from the Arctic. Yet, our fate is intertwined: rising sea levels pose a grave threat to Singapore as about 30% of our island is less than five metres above sea level. Coastal cities in Southeast Asia, like Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta, face similar challenges. 898 million people globally also live in low-lying coastal areas. 

4 Singapore has thus invested heavily in climate resilience. Today, 70 to 80% of Singapore’s coastline is shielded by stone embankments and seawalls to minimise coastal erosion. In August this year, Singapore announced the implementation of storm surge barriers and raised platforms at our southeastern coastline to combat rising sea levels. We also completed our first polder project, a 10-kilometre-long dike to guard against flooding and channel excess rainwater collected out to sea.

5 Our efforts are complemented by nature-based solutions such as mangroves and coral restoration, which provide added protection against shoreline erosion. In December last year, Singapore launched a coral restoration effort to plant 100,000 corals over the next decade and beyond.

6 Looking further ahead, the Singapore Green Plan 2030 sets out an ambitious goal to plant a million more trees and green 80% of Singapore’s buildings by 2030. Our carbon tax will be progressively raised to strengthen the impetus for businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. Singapore has also established the Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership initiative (FAST-P) and committed up to US$500 million in concessional funding, to deploy blended finance to fund green and sustainable infrastructure in Southeast and South Asia. Our efforts reflect Singapore’s commitment to inclusive, science-based, and forward-looking climate action both in Singapore and Asia.

7 A rapidly melting Arctic will profoundly impact maritime and shipping networks. UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and the seas, including the Arctic, must be carried out. An international rules-based framework for Arctic shipping, based on UNCLOS, is important for safe and responsible shipping through the Arctic region. At the third United Nations Ocean Conference in June this year, Singapore reaffirmed that the health of our oceans is a shared global responsibility. We are proud that Singapore’s Ambassador for International Law Rena Lee played an instrumental role in stewarding the negotiations that led to the consensus adoption of the Agreement under UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) – a treaty vital for protecting the high seas, including parts of the Arctic Ocean.

8 Singapore has consistently participated in the Arctic Council Working Groups, sharing our knowledge and experience in areas such as the prevention of oil spills, and the protection of Arctic migratory birds. Singapore’s researchers also contribute actively to Arctic research. The National University of Singapore is part of the International Partnership for Acoustic Monitoring of Glaciers (IPAOMG), which studies glaciers through acoustic sensing. In July and August this year, NUS researchers conducted fieldwork in West Greenland to refine their acoustic and computer-vision techniques for tracking glacier melt. I know it’s hard to believe as Singapore is a tropical country, but we do take a strong interest in what is happening in the Arctic, including the melting of the glaciers.

9        Singapore also recognises that indigenous peoples are the most affected by what happens in the Arctic. We have hosted several representatives of the Arctic Council Permanent Participants on study visits to Singapore, and look forward to welcoming more in the future to exchange views and experiences, and to learn from them too. We are also refreshing the course offerings of the Singapore-Arctic Council Permanent Participants Cooperation Package to ensure their relevance.

Excellencies, Arctic friends,

10 Rising temperatures in the Arctic knows no boundaries. No country is immune, and no country can afford to act alone. We must share research across borders, co-develop innovative solutions, and support vulnerable communities.

11 Singapore will continue to share our experience and expertise with the Arctic Council and ACA. The Arctic can count on Singapore as a committed and reliable friend in the years ahead. Thank you.

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