PM Lawrence Wong's Dialogue at the IPS-SBF Conference "Global-City Singapore SG60 and Beyond"

Moderator (Janadas Devan): PM, if I may ask the first question, President Trump seems to have settled on 10 to 15% tariffs. 

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong: It keeps changing. We are not sure what the final figure will be.

Moderator: So number one, what are we going to do domestically in order to prepare for these uncertainties? And number two, actually internationally, we have long been told that Singapore is a small country, that we are a price taker. Are we helpless? 

PM Wong: On the external environment, it is more than just tariffs alone. For decades now, the world has benefited from a rules-based global order, and it is an order that has been underwritten by American leadership – especially after the end of the Cold War – one that provides stability, predictability, a framework for countries to work with one another, and it has benefited countries around the world, including the US. But America now more and more – and this goes beyond the President himself or this particular administration, we can see the trends unfolding over the years, and I believe the trend will continue – the sense in America is that they are paying too high a price to be the one bearing the cost of upholding such a global order, and they are pulling back. And critics of the system may say, “well, this is well and good”, but the reality is, there is no country that can replace the US. It is not just America alone, it is America's network of allies and partners. There is no one that can replace; there is no one that is able to, no one that is willing to.

And so if this trend continues, it is going to be messier. It will be a world that is more conflict-prone, more difficult to navigate, more fragmented and less able to come together to deal with global challenges. So that is the world that is likely to unfold before us, and we have to brace ourselves for a bumpier ride.

Where economic uncertainties are concerned, we are doing everything we can. Gan Kim Yong and his team have been hard at work - he is truly our Taskforce Man. You see him flying around all the different places, negotiating with countries. He was just in the US, I think he is back today, and he is speaking to you this afternoon, after flying back from America this morning. And they are working hard to secure deals for Singapore, to expand our cooperation with different partners.

They are focused on the immediate concerns – what we can do to take targeted measures to support businesses and workers for example, given the uncertainties, preparing drawer plans in case the economic situation gets worse. But beyond dealing with the immediate, there is also a need for the taskforce and for us as a government and as a society to think about how we better prepare Singapore for a very different environment. And so we will need to update and refresh our economic strategies for a changed world. The taskforce is thinking about how best to do this, and they will be making some announcements in due course, so I best not steal their thunder and let them announce what they plan to do.

On the point that you asked, “are we helpless beyond just dealing with our own economic situation, are we really helpless” –

We have to be realistic and take the world as it is. There is not much we can do to change these large, powerful forces, but at the same time, we are not passive bystanders. We have agency to shape our own destiny. And there are several things we can do. One, we can and we are working with like-minded countries to strengthen multilateral institutions today. And this is not just talk. Actions are happening. Actual work is taking place, painstaking work, but important work. For example, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is of utmost importance in having a rule-based framework for free trade. Some things may not be working well in the WTO, and without American leadership, it is not so easy to move. But there are other like-minded countries like us, who would like to make things happen, and so we have been working with them.

For example, to complete a set of digital rules, the first ever [global] set of digital rules for digital trade with other countries. And we made progress there. The dispute settlement system in the WTO is not working, and we have worked with other like-minded countries to come up with an interim arrangement. So these are actions we can do, to uphold and strengthen multilateralism, to keep things moving forward in the right direction.

Second, we can work with like-minded countries to strengthen partnerships, bilaterally and in different groupings. So we are doing that with countries where we may not have such close links, for example, in Africa, in Latin America, in the Middle East. I think there is a lot of potential for us to do more with these regions. We are also looking beyond these countries and regions, working with different groups. How can we foster closer links between different groups? And one very promising initiative is for the CPTPP, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, to forge closer links with the European Union. We were among the first few countries to push this idea, to advance this idea, and it has gained a lot of traction, because the Europeans can see the trends. They want to work with like-minded partners to strengthen trade. Members within Asia, Asian members of the CPTPP, like ourselves and others, are keen to advance the idea. So talks are happening at the ministerial level, and we hope we can eventually formalise a partnership that will really help to strengthen the framework for trade amongst ourselves.

And then, thirdly, we can pay close attention to ASEAN, our region, our part of the world. There is still a lot we can do to strengthen and advance ASEAN integration. It does not help that there is a border conflict earlier between Thailand and Cambodia, and I am glad that with Malaysia's mediation, things have calmed down. Both sides have agreed. I had a chat with Prime Minister Anwar just last night to congratulate him on the successful mediation. We hope that agreement will hold, and both sides will commit to and continue with the ceasefire and then open the border, and things will progress from here. But there is so much potential for us, so much more we can do to bring ASEAN closer together, to bring down barriers. The tariffs within ASEAN are practically zero, but all the businesses here who have operated in ASEAN know that it is not just about tariffs; there are many non-tariff barriers that can make it extremely hard for businesses to navigate the region. And there is so much more we can do to offer a single market to make operations seamless across Southeast Asia, and so much potential. There is desire to do this at a political level amongst ASEAN leaders. And I think if we can remove all the unnecessary distractions and make sure that we have peace and stability, focus on concrete initiatives that can bring ASEAN together, we can make progress.

ASEAN per capita GDP today is $6,000. If ASEAN 's per capita GDP gets to something like $10,000 or more, it is a complete game changer for the region. And we have a region that is young, potentially a rising middle class. There is a lot going for Southeast Asia, and we should really focus on strengthening that. So these are some things we can do, despite this fragmented world.

Moderator: If I may invite questions from the floor. Well, let me follow up with the question. More than 50 years ago, Mr S Rajaratnam, our first Foreign Minister, gave a famous speech on Singapore being a Global City. I read the speech recently.

PM Wong: I read it. It was a very good speech.

Moderator: It was given in 1970. And it was a speech that was incredibly optimistic.

PM Wong: And very far-sighted.

Moderator: But he gave the speech and borrowed the concept from Arnold Toynbee’s Study of History. And it was a speech that was optimistic, a sense that the world was going to become more open, and that we should ride that tide and connect with other global cities and our hinterland is, in that speech, no longer Malaya or Southeast Asia. It is the world. If you and your Foreign Minister were to give that speech again in vastly different circumstances, how would you envision Singapore as a Global City in these new circumstances. We have no alternative but to be a Global City. But how would you envision our place in this time?

PM Wong: We have no alternative. That is a fact. So first of all, it is important to acknowledge that there is no other choice, staying open for us is not a matter of luxury, it is an essential lifeline. But what does it mean to be a Global City in this new environment?

I will tell you a story. In 2005. I was working with then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. And we were preparing his National Day Rally in 2005.I had just started in my role as his Principal Private Secretary (PPS), so it was my first National Day Rally as such. And I came to realise at that time that when preparing for a rally speech like that, you do not start with the title of the speech. You start thinking about the content. What are the messages, what is the structure, what are the key things that you would like to say. The title comes last. No one remembers the title of the speech. Frankly, do any of you? There is a title, incidentally, in every rally speech. Who remembers the title ever?

Moderator: I only remember one - “New Way Forward”.

PM Wong: So one of the tasks I had to do when we were wrapping up, because this is the last thing you think of, was to come up with the title. And I asked around and everyone told me, do not sweat too much about this because no one remembers, no one cares. The media is not going to use your title, so just use something that is functional and then move on; many more other important things to do. But you know, this was my first rally. I was young and enthusiastic, and I was determined to come up with something that had traction. So I thought long and hard and, in 2005 the title was “A Vibrant Global City called Home. The next day, Straits Times (ST)’s coverage of the rally speech, the headline - front page, was “Global City called Home”. So I was vindicated, and I cheered. All my efforts paid off. The ST carried it on the front page - headline. But that phrase always stuck. It has always remained with me. That we do want to be a Global City called “Home”. And what does it mean in today’s circumstance? And I would say again, three things.

First, even in a fragmented world, there will be a global network of cosmopolitan cities that stand out. We want to be one of them. A shiny node where the human spirit thrives, where people want to be here, to do business and to make things happen.

Second, we do not have to copy others. We should have confidence to chart our own way; what it means to be a Global City, to be that shining node in this global network.

We will never be like New York or Paris, and we do not have to be. Here, we are cosmopolitan, but we are Asian, we are multi-cultural. Some say we are boring, and we will never have the same offerings as New York and Paris. We can try to be more exciting, have more lifestyle offerings, but let us be realistic, we will not be the same. But at the same time, we are stable, we are predictable. We are reliable and we are trusted, and these are intangible assets that others would die to have.

So, we should embrace our strengths and our competitive advantage, build on them and add value to the world.

Third and finally, we must always be a home for Singaporeans. Even as we talk about being a Global City, we must set the house rules. That means we stay open, but there will be house rules that apply.

For example, guardrails on housing. Foreigners want to buy a home or property here? Pay the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD). There will be prudent controls on foreign manpower – it is not just a free for all. We manage the flows so that Singaporeans always remain at the centre of everything we do; Singaporeans benefit.

Being a Global City will eventually translate into better homes, better lives, improved standards of living for Singapore. We want to be a Global City where, at the end of the day, we can still enjoy good food at hawker centres, we have affordable public housing, and there will be a strong kampung spirit in every town. That is a Global City we want to be. A Global City called home.

Moderator: I see some young people standing up. Yes. One in front. Yes.

Jonathan: Good morning, Prime Minister and Mr. Devan. My name is Jonathan from Nanyang Polytechnic. My question is, what will the next iteration of Singapore's social compact look like as we navigate through the forces of ageing, automation, aspirations, and how can we continuously renew inclusivity, trust and unity while remaining competitive. Thank you.

Moderator: Next iteration, we are going through one item.

PM Wong: We are doing it now through Forward Singapore. We started the Forward Singapore exercise precisely to strengthen our social compact. Part of this is to strengthen the support system for Singaporeans. To give Singaporeans more assurance through every life stage. Recognising that we are amidst a period of greater uncertainty and volatility; we have to make sure that everyone benefits from the nation's progress.

Through Forward Singapore, we have made several moves over the last one to two years; whether in terms of the unemployment benefit scheme that we rolled out called the Jobseeker Support Scheme, some moves on housing, on supporting young parents with more parental leave for example, or even to help reduce the parenting costs, moves to support caregivers. These are just the beginning. We will continue to review and see what more we can do to provide greater assurances and to strengthen our social support system.

But the idea of a social compact is not just about what the government can do for Singaporeans. The idea of a social compact is what we can do for ourselves and for one another. Naturally the focus and the attention will always be on “What more can the government do?” – and the government will do more – but in order for us to have a strong social compact, we also have to strengthen our sense of bonding with one another, sense of common purpose, the sense of wanting to work together.

This is not something that happens by chance. The Founding Generation, the Pioneer Generation, had that because they went through trials and tribulations together. They went through poverty, deprivation, wars, racial riots, and that crucible of hardship built that sense of group solidarity and common destiny. Post-65 Generation: If you were born earlier, you will have seen some of that. But for young Singaporeans, today’s Singapore is the only Singapore you know. So how do we, amidst a generational shift, engender that same sense of common purpose, that strong sense of group solidarity, that sense of ‘we’ and not just ‘me’, that we are all in this together? That is important, and that is something my team and I are very focused on as well.

Moderator: I turn to Professor Tommy Koh – definitely born before 1965.

Prof Tommy Koh: We had a question from a young person. We should now have a question from a very old person. I should begin by saying that that I was one of the few Singaporeans who opposed merger and championed an independent Singapore. I am glad the history has proven me right.
Prime Minister, my question is about technology. The world is being transformed by four technologies – digital, biotechnology, robotics and artificial intelligence. The question is, is Singapore well prepared to harness the benefits of technology? What can we do for persons who will not benefit? I see that already university graduates are finding difficulty in getting jobs, so, impact on employment.

PM Wong: Sure.

Moderator: Perhaps you can talk about AI also.

PM Wong: I think AI will be the defining technology of our time. It is a general-purpose technology, just as computers and the Internet were. The thing about technology is this – we get very enamoured with countries that are the leaders of the cutting-edge, frontier technology.

And yes, there will be some rewards that go to countries that are the pioneers and are the first. But in fact, the big advantage of technology is when there is broad- based adoption; when countries really, truly harness technology across the entire economy. That is when you reap the real benefits. And you see this across history.

When the electric dynamo was invented, it took decades before it eventually showed up in manufacturing and in productivity. Or think about the start of the 20th century, who was the leader in the chemicals industry? The pioneers were the Germans. They had the best scientists. They had the best technological edge. But who eventually got the chemical industry going? It was the Americans. They institutionalised chemical engineering in university. They raised skill sets across the board, the broad base of workers, embedded it within industrial processes, and really took it, scaled it in a big way.

So with technology, it is not just about cutting-edge frontier. It is about broad-based adoption, and we will have to think hard about how we do that for AI today.

AI, unlike previous waves of technology, is already quite accessible. Everyone in this room would have had a chance on your phone to ask ChatGPT or to ask OpenAI; AI is embedded in WhatsApp. You can use AI, but most of us use AI the way we use Google. That is not exactly the best way to use AI or to harness the potential of AI.

And even with AI, it's not just about Large Language Models. That is only a small part of AI. There is still so much potential to be unlocked and unleashed, and so we will have to think harder about how we can help every company, big and small, especially our smaller enterprises, make full use of AI, integrate AI into your processes, transform your industry, transform your business, elevate productivity in a more significant way.

There is a lot more that can be done, and we are thinking about how we can help businesses do so. I spoke with one CEO recently. He said he had decided, because of the importance of AI, to get everyone in the management team to set aside a few days or even weeks of their time focusing on how AI can transform their company and think through; stop doing the regular work, just think about how AI can be embedded within their work processes or what changes can be made. And he realised there were tremendous advantages that they had not really thought about.

And that kind of a transformation, if we can make it happen, company by company, it can yield significant advantages for us. If there is any country that can do that, it is us, because we are small, we are compact, and we can do this company by company.

Now then the concern is, what happens with jobs? It is a real concern, not just with young people, but with workers everywhere. We can take some comfort in history, because if history has been any guide, every wave of new technologies that we confront, jobs will disappear, existing jobs will evolve, but new jobs will get created. And usually the new jobs are better jobs, higher paying jobs, because productivity increases, the pie expands, and humans get to do the better jobs. But this is not an economic law. This is just historical fact, and history may not guide our future.

There are concerns that with AI, things will be different because AI is so powerful and can do so many things that humans can, so will we see this happening with the next wave of AI? People are worried, people are wondering, and there are good reasons to be concerned.

So I would say that even as we think about broad-based adoption of AI, which we have to do because we have no choice – we have to harness technology – we also have to think equally hard about applying technologies like AI in a meaningful and deliberate manner that creates jobs for Singaporeans.

It is up to us, and again, we can do it in Singapore. Because we have the ability as a compact system, with our strong tripartite partnership, with the relationships we have with employers and unions, to discuss before the technology is rolled out, to think about how we redesign jobs, how we retrain workers, how we pace out the technological changes. And that is what we must do in Singapore, not just rush headlong into AI. Yes, embrace it, adopt it, but always make sure that the technological changes that we harness, the power of technology, benefits workers, not replaces them, and always ensures that workers will thrive in this new environment.

Moderator: We only have about 10 minutes. Can we take three questions in a row? Yes, the first one, then we go back.

Carmen: Thank you PM, for your dialogue. My name is Carmen Wias. I am from Overseas Family School. I just have a short question regarding the Trump tariffs. In light of the limited flexibility in reducing the US 10% baseline tariffs in Singapore, is Singapore doubling down on South-South trade corridors, or leveraging the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) or CPTPP frameworks to create tariff offsets for firms that depend heavily on US markets?

Moderator: Okay, the second question right behind. Yes.

Ming Tian: Morning, I am Ming Tian. I wanted to ask about what you were saying previously about raising ASEAN’s per capita GDP – for this, in the ASEAN region, the Gini Coefficient or income disparity is quite high in the world. So are there any, perhaps economic or policy levers, or social levers, that you see within ASEAN itself that can actually be implemented to ensure that this gap does not get wider with the growth in GDP?

Moderator: Yes. Final one.

Mei Goh: Good morning, Prime Minister. My name is Lee Mei Goh and I represent the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. What really struck me just now when you were speaking was about speeches, and how these images and words can stay with people. One of the enduring images of Singapore is of us as the Little Red Dot. Increasingly, the world is fragmented, and when we talk about Singapore as a global city, what do you think and what is your vision for Singapore in the Asia-Pacific region, and how can we play a role in this rising economy going forward? Thank you.

PM Wong: With the US tariffs: will there be opportunities for us with other regions? For sure, that is what I mentioned just now, that we will be looking at strengthening our links with different parts of the world, particularly with areas where we may not be so familiar with – in Africa, in the Middle East, in Latin America, in the Caribbean – I think there is potential for us to do more there. It will require us to step up our foreign policy – which we are doing – but also help businesses navigate these new environments, which may be less familiar to us. Businesses in Singapore are certainly more familiar with operating in Asia. But to go further afield, it will take more effort, and MTI will have to work closely with Singapore Business Federation: mount new business missions, get businesses to go overseas to these places, understand the environment, and then think about how we can foster closer economic collaboration.

So certainly, there is an opportunity there. But I would say the trade and investment relationship with America, even with the tariffs, remain important. If it is a base tariff rate, which we have, whether it is 10%, whatever the rate is, and it applies across the board, and we are at the baseline rate, we would – it's not ideal – but we can live with it. We would prefer to have zero tariffs of course, but if it is the baseline rate, then we are at the lowest category. We can live with it, and we can still do business and there will still be many opportunities for trade with the US, because whatever is happening in America now, the economy is still resilient, and there are still tremendous innovation happening in American companies, and so there will still be opportunities there.

With ASEAN, of course, as I said just now, it will be an area of renewed focus and priority for us, to help grow the ASEAN economic pie further. In the process of growth – growth does not always translate into uplifting of the poor, but it does help when you have a bigger pie. How individual countries, what they do to take their own actions to uplift the poor, I think we have to leave to ASEAN governments. We can share our experiences, we can share best practices, which we do. But eventually, individual governments will have to do their part, as we are trying very hard to do in Singapore too, to bring down our Gini coefficient.

And you will know that in Singapore, we have been able to make progress. Over the last 10 years, our Gini coefficient has steadily been coming down, and it is at its lowest in quite a while. So likewise, we hope other countries will do the same, and with a growing pie, when ASEAN’s growth is at four, five percent, it will help; but if ASEAN growth is at six, seven percent a year, for many of the developing countries within ASEAN, it will be a big help. It will help uplift many people, many of the lower income workers and families amidst ASEAN neighbours. So that is certainly our focus – to strengthen integration, to really help ASEAN get to the next frontier.

And then finally, on how American companies or what role Singapore can play in this new environment. As I mentioned just now, the world will be more contested, it will be more fragmented. but it will still be a globalised world, a different kind of globalisation perhaps, but I do not see countries all becoming self-sufficient. It is not possible. The trade and investment links are so intertwined, and there are so many interdependencies now, it is not possible to see how we can just simply decouple completely. Will we move further apart into different groupings, different blocs? Yes, I think that is very likely to happen. Will there be a complete severing? I cannot see that happening. I mean, if it happens, the world is in big trouble.

So I think that there will still be trade, there will be investment links, but the supply chains will be reconfigured. The trade flows will evolve. The investment flows will evolve. And in this global network, as I said, there will be a few cities, a few places that stand out, places that investors want to be, places where businesses say it is a place that is sought after, where people would like to come to. Singapore would want to be such a shining node in the global network, and we can make it happen. We already are in many ways successful because of our track record, because of our reputation, and we can build on these strong foundations to do even better.

Moderator: Thank you PM, we have come to the end of this session. DPM Gan will be here this afternoon.

PM Wong: You can ask him more questions.

Moderator: He just returned from America. I just messaged him to ask if he had time to nap a little before he comes here. But let me conclude, perhaps by asking you one last question, simple one: can you know what might be your own title, for your National Day Rally, in three weeks’ time?

PM Wong: It is the last thing that we do. The speech is still being prepared. It will be just, you know, a few days before, when we finalise, when we get the title going.

But I am in the midst of preparing for the Rally, and it will touch on many of the things that we talked about. The reality is the world has changed. I talked about this three months ago, that we are in a changed world. Since then, all the developments that we have seen around us show that it has just become graver, and more dangerous. And the thing is, we hope things will correct in the right direction, which we will certainly like. So we would like to work with other countries to maintain global institutions, to maintain multilateralism. We do all we can, but we have to be prepared that the fragmentation will continue, the separation will continue, and it will go beyond just one administration. It is a secular trend. We just have to be mentally prepared that this is where we are headed in this new environment, and that is why it requires us to think about what new strategies we will need in Singapore to navigate a very different world, and so I will touch on that in my Rally.

DPM Gan I am sure will also talk about that, because that is very much on our focus. Not just dealing with the immediate concerns, not just dealing with the uncertainties now, and the possible slowdown of our economy – that we will do, certainly. But what can we do in the longer term to prepare ourselves, and to make sure that Singapore continues to thrive and succeed? There are still many things we can do.

Sometimes people – you hear this from Singaporeans – that they feel the big moves have all been done, because we went from Third World to First. Now we are First. What more can you do? You are already First. All the big, bold moves have already been done in Singapore, and not much more we can do to take Singapore forward. And there is such a sentiment, and I think it is a misconception.

The journey from Third World to First was dramatic. We went from poor to high income. We went from virtually nothing, very few industries, to a very comprehensive economy. That was an exhilarating ride. The delta was significant. You cannot have the same delta. If you want the same delta, you have to go back down, and then go up again. Who wants to go back down? No one. Does that mean that we can only stay where we are now? No, of course not. We must keep moving forward. There is still room for us to progress, room for us to do better.

In many ways, the move from this position will be more difficult, much more difficult, because we are at a higher place, and in order to make incremental gains from where we are now, it is going to be much more difficult. But at the same time, it means we cannot be complacent. We cannot afford to just cruise along, and think that the status quo is sufficient. We need to continue with bold moves to keep Singapore exceptional.

And there are many big things we will have to think about. Just for example, even as we map out our new economic strategies in a different world, we talk about AI, how we harness AI well, while ensuring Singaporeans have jobs, that is a very important thing to do. But what about clean energy? The industries of the future are going to be digital industries. They are power-hungry industries. How do we secure clean energy supply for Singapore? And so we are thinking very hard what moves we can make around securing clean energy for Singapore, including studying very seriously the possibility of adopting nuclear power.

So these are consequential moves, and so we should not ever think that the era of bold moves are over. But we have to take the same mindset of our pioneers: think boldly, and chart a new way forward for Singapore that will continue to secure Singapore's future. Keep Singapore exceptional, and then we can continue to look forward to many more milestones to celebrate together.

Moderator: On that note, thank you very much.

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