SINGAPORE – Singapore and the UK will work extra carefully to facilitate digital commerce between the nations, as a part of a partnership that may make digital transactions by companies simpler, safer and cheaper.
The partnership was deepened by the inking of three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) by the 2 nations on Monday (Nov 29).
The MOUs will strengthen the digital connectivity between them, mentioned Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Data and the UK’s Division for Digital, Tradition, Media and Sport in a joint assertion.
“In 2019, 70 per cent of UK cross-border providers exports to Singapore had been digitally delivered,” mentioned the federal government organisations. The exports amounted to £3.2 billion (S$5.8 billion) in worth.
“These MOUs will additional help alternatives to develop digital supply of cross-border providers between the UK and Singapore, present a foundation for working carefully with like-minded digital companions, and assist set a worldwide benchmark on high-standards digital cooperation to convey financial and societal advantages to each nations,” they added.
The MOUs can even help the shared targets and key tenets of the UK-Singapore Digital Financial system Settlement, which seeks to advertise trusted, strong and related digital markets for individuals and companies.
The settlement, which is being negotiated, will set up guidelines to allow trusted cross-border knowledge flows and guarantee excessive requirements in knowledge safety.
Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Data Josephine Teo and the UK’s Secretary of State for Digital, Tradition, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries signed the MOUs in London on Monday.
Mrs Teo can also be in London to attend the London Future Tech Discussion board, which goals to facilitate dialogue on the position of expertise in supporting open societies and tackling international challenges, amongst different issues. Members embody governments and people from academia.
Underneath the primary MOU, the nations will share information and implementation of pilot initiatives in areas comparable to digital commerce paperwork and invoicing.
This can assist drive the event and adoption of digital commerce facilitation options at a bilateral and worldwide stage, mentioned the ministries.
Advantages to the digitalisation of commerce embody enhancing accessibility for small and medium-sized enterprises to interact in cross-border commerce, amongst different issues.
“The sharing of greatest practices can even affect the creation of safe international provide chains and interoperable digital ecosystems,” added the ministries.
Underneath the second MOU, Singapore and the UK will work extra carefully to develop mutual recognition of digital identities between the nations.
The MOU is “an necessary step within the route to attain interoperability of digital identification regimes between completely different jurisdictions”, which may enable for extra dependable identification verification and sooner processing of functions, amongst different issues, the ministries added.
“This may in flip cut back boundaries in cross-border commerce and allow companies and people to navigate the worldwide digital economic system with better ease, confidence and safety.”
The third MOU will improve current cooperation between each nations in cyber safety.
It’ll additionally construct on current efforts by the nations to develop a safe and resilient our on-line world for companies and customers.
Mrs Teo, who can also be Minister-in-charge of Good Nation and Cybersecurity, mentioned within the assertion: “Singapore has been working with like-minded nations to advance a worldwide digital structure that’s open, inclusive, interoperable and safe.”
She additionally mentioned the partnerships between Singapore and the UK “make digital transactions simpler, safer and cheaper, enabling companies in each nations to grab alternatives within the rising digital economic system as we search to get well from the pandemic”.
Mrs Teo later mentioned throughout a media interview on Monday that there’s extra that each nations can cooperate on, comparable to rising digital applied sciences, using synthetic intelligence and a better variety of use circumstances for 5G expertise.
Enabling extra cross-border flows between the nations can also be an space that “gives many fascinating alternatives”, she added.
The minister mentioned Singapore has to take the Omicron variant of Covid-19 severely, however famous that the World Well being Organisation has urged nations to not be overly alarmed.
“We’ve to take a rational strategy – perceive how this virus behaves, after which placed on the absolute best response to guard lives, and attempt to hold as many individuals as doable protected,” mentioned Mrs Teo.