EXPANDING LINKS WITH AFRICA
As part of efforts to partner with African economies, Singapore announced on Monday that it will establish an embassy in Addis Ababa, its first in East Africa. This will be Singapore's third embassy on the African continent, alongside Egypt and South Africa.
The partnership, which Mr Wong announced at a joint press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, provides a new market for Singapore companies in a more challenging global environment.
"We can't just stick to familiar markets, we have to look at new areas. And these new frontier areas are in places like Africa," he said.
The 1.5 billion-strong population in Africa is still growing, Mr Wong added, presenting a sizeable market for Singapore businesses and enterprises.
But beyond looking "through the narrow lens of whether Singapore benefits or not", he stressed the need for cooperation between nations.
Whether through skills or the Singapore Cooperation Programme, Singapore hopes to contribute to other countries and provide value so that they can progress, develop and grow their economies.
The efforts of small countries or countries with seemingly limited influence should not be dismissed, added Mr Wong.
"It doesn't matter whether you're small or big, whether you have geopolitical influence or not," he said.
"What matters more is, if the economies come together, we find a good platform to innovate and try something new, be it on digital trade, on supply chain resilience, the success will then speak for itself."
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