International tech cooperation key to tackling global issues: Minister

S'pore hopes to see expansion of space for collaboration through dialogue

- Joyce ZK Lim

Singapore hopes for more international cooperation on technology, as the impact of technology, which is also needed to address global issues, transcends national boundaries, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo in Suzhou on Oct 11.

Mrs Teo, who is also Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity, was speaking at the Lianhe Zaobao Singapore-China Forum organised by SPH Media's flagship Chinese-language daily.

"The impact of technology on economies and societies cuts across national boundaries," she said in Mandarin at a dialogue with Ms Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of SPH Media's Chinese Media Group.

"There are also many cross-border issues, such as climate change, that require the use of technology to fully address. So, international cooperation in the field of technology is essential, and I think many countries recognise this," Mrs Teo told the audience of more than 300 people, including officials, business people, academics and university students, from China and Singapore.

Technology is increasingly being framed as a security issue.

When asked about the likelihood of international tech cooperation against this global backdrop, Mrs Teo observed that such collaboration had traditionally been the norm: Scientists and researchers regularly visited and studied at one another's institutions; they also attended global conferences and read international journals to stimulate their own thinking.