Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong. — The Straits Times
SINGAPORE: Fourteen small and medium members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), including Singapore, established a partnership on Sept 16 to boost their trading links, amid strains on the rules-based trading system.
The other members of the Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership, launched in a ministerial meeting held virtually, are Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Rwanda, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.
Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, who represented Singapore at the meeting, said the partnership reflects member nations’ collective purpose to support the rules-based multilateral trading system and address the challenges of today and tomorrow.
“We hope the FIT Partnership will be a catalyst for innovation that can be scaled up to the multilateral level to strengthen the WTO,” he said in a statement.
“Singapore will continue to work with our partners to ensure that our economies remain open, connected and future-ready.”
The Trade and Industry Ministry said the new initiative by the 14 partners came in light of recent developments in global trade that have placed significant strain on the rules-based trading system, threatening to fragment markets and dampen global growth.
Economic observers have said that US president Donald Trump’s on-and-off tariff policy threatens to depress global trade and stall economic growth, especially for small and open economies.
At the launch, which was also attended by WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the 14 partners issued a joint ministerial declaration setting out the partnership’s objectives, principles and priorities.
These reflect the partners’ belief in international trade and its role in driving prosperity, enabling growth and innovation, and building resilience against economic shocks.
Ministers of the body agreed to work towards endorsing concrete initiatives that will be announced at the meeting in November. — The Straits Times/ANN
