A diplomat’s wish for Singapore, UK to be ‘the closest of tech partners’
(Photo credit: British High Commission, Singapore)
Source: The Business Time
The year 2025 will be a momentous one for the UK and Singapore, with both countries set to celebrate 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties.
On such landmark occasions, leaders and officials usually take stock of the state of bilateral and economic relations, and outline plans for what to expect in the coming years.
Latest available figures show that Singapore is one of the UK’s closest partners with a trade relationship worth £21 billion (S$35.8 billion). This accounts for some 40 per cent of the UK’s total trade in the region.
Of all the UK businesses that operate in Asia today, 70 per cent of them have a regional hub in Singapore, with more than 6,000 British companies present and counting.
Singaporean entities have a total of £297 billion invested in the UK. In 2022, the UK and Singapore signed a first-of-its-kind Digital Economy Agreement to help businesses from both sides seize new trade opportunities.
Last year, then-UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and then-Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India during which they issued a joint declaration to elevate Singapore-UK relations to a strategic partnership.
Nikesh Mehta, the new British High Commissioner to Singapore, arrived in the Republic in July to take up his new posting. Already, he and his team are busy planning a series of activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of relations.
“I feel pretty confident that over the course of 2025, we will have high-level visits from the UK to Singapore and vice-versa, and that we will have a number of events to mark the occasion,” he said in a recent interview with The Business Times.
“I hope that we will be able to do that by recognising the rich history between our countries, as well as some of the challenges that we are jointly working on – such as the climate agenda,” he added.
He joked about how his team “didn’t take too kindly” when he mooted the idea of organising 60 events in 2025 to celebrate the 60 years of relations.
“I don’t think we’re going to have 60 different events, but we will have very significant milestones through the year; and we are discussing those with the Singapore government, to make sure whatever we do also aligns with their intentions,” he said.
Like-minded partners
During the 30-minute chat with BT, Mehta described Singapore-UK relations as being in a “really strong” place at the moment.
“The Strategic Partnership agreement we signed in September last year sets a framework for a future-focused, ambitious partnership. Alongside that, we have the Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) and the Green Economy Framework. These all provide the right foundations for what we want to achieve in the future,” he said.
The UK-Singapore DEA is Singapore’s third such agreement and entered into force in June 2022. It now allows businesses and consumers to enjoy cheaper trade through the adoption of digital trading systems, and the free flow of trusted data, among other benefits.
Some 77 per cent of the UK’s services exports to Singapore are already digitally delivered, including in finance, advertising and engineering.
The Green Economy Framework, meanwhile, was signed in March 2023 and promotes cooperation in the green economy and encourages the decarbonisation of economic activities.
Mehta added that artificial intelligence technology will be a key plank of the UK-Singapore relationship as it expands in scope and size in the next few years.
“Our two countries have a very strong tradition when it comes to developing technology and supporting startups to reach their ambitions, as well as using technology to level up our public services,” he said.
He noted how there is a delegation of executives from various British technology companies in town for this week’s Singapore International Cyber Week, as well as the upcoming Singapore Fintech Festival in the first week of November.
“There are more tech unicorns in the UK than the four next significant European capitals combined, so the ecosystem is there for Singapore companies to tap into,” he said.
“I want the UK and Singapore to be the closest of tech partners – the UK should be Singapore’s most important tech partner in Europe, and similarly, for Singapore to be our most important tech partner in South-east Asia.”
Career diplomat
Mehta – a career diplomat with 22 years of experience at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – said he was motivated to join the Foreign Service because of the possibility of having the opportunity to represent his country at the highest level.
Before arriving in Singapore, he was the director of policy and requirements in the UK’s National Security Community.
The father of two also had overseas stints in South Korea, Iraq, Uganda and Malaysia. As the political counsellor in Kuala Lumpur, he was responsible for the UK’s response to the two Malaysia Airlines disasters in 2014 and 2015.
Just days after he landed on Jul 26, Mehta was at the Istana for a ceremony to present his credentials to Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
(Photo credit: Ministry of Digital Development and Information)
“Singapore is special because it’s not only an important financial hub, but it’s also a key business hub for countries like the UK,” he said.
“This is also a fascinating part of the world to be in, and Singapore is a good place to live in. So for many reasons, it will always be quite competitive.”