Despite rising trade tensions, Singapore still wants to push ahead with a “multilateral, rules-based trading system,” and sees further cooperation between ASEAN and the European Union.
This was according to Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who spoke at the Singapore Fintech Festival on Wednesday.
Gan, who is also Singapore’s minister for trade and industry, said in a fireside chat with DBS CEO Tan Su Shan that “if we are able to bring both EU and ASEAN together to discuss a digital economic agreement between EU and ASEAN, I think there will be a major breakthrough.”
He also added, “EU will not be part of ASEAN. ASEAN will not be part of EU, but it doesn’t stop [the] EU and ASEAN [to] come together to discuss areas that we can work together.”
Gan did say however, that this will take time, and the two sides will first discuss a digital economic collaboration, “how we can set out basic rules, and then consider next steps.”
