Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum explores strategic collaboration in sectors of mutual interest

The 15th session of the Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum (ADSJF) was held today in Singapore under the co-chairmanship of Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, and Dr Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry. The Forum was also attended by Ambassadors of both countries, in addition to officials and senior representatives from a number of key government and private entities in the UAE and Singapore.

The ADSJF was held as part of H.H. Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi’s official visit to Singapore, and discussed ways to deepen existing areas of cooperation and exploring new areas of shared benefit and interest of both countries.

During the session, the Co-Chairs of the ADSJF reaffirmed their commitment to building on the strong bilateral relations and the Comprehensive Partnership between the UAE and Singapore. The UAE continues to be Singapore’s largest trading partner in the Middle East with total non-oil trade of $5.8 billion in 2023. Both parties also reiterated their shared interest in enhancing and exploring collaboration in areas of mutual strategic importance, including financial services and fintech, green economy, food security and water scarcity, government services, space and technology, as well peaceful nuclear energy.

Al Mubarak said, “The Abu Dhabi Singapore Joint Forum provides an invaluable platform for deepening ties and forging mutual beneficial partnerships in various sectors of shared interest between the UAE and Singapore. Within this robust framework and under the guidance of our leadership, the bilateral relationship between the UAE and Singapore continues to grow from strength to strength while delivering a range of benefits to our economies and societies.”

Dr Tan said: “The ADSJF has been our platform for economic engagements between the UAE and Singapore since we established it in 2008. The relationship between our countries is broad and deep, with the UAE being Singapore’s largest trading partner in the Middle East. The initiatives discussed at the ADSJF will pave the way for new growth opportunities for our business communities.”

The ADSJF also featured a session on the emerging challenge of global water scarcity, including an introduction to the Mohamed Bin Zayed Water Initiative (MBZWI), which was established in Abu Dhabi earlier this year and which aims to help address global water scarcity by supporting the development and application of breakthrough technologies, while raising the importance of water scarcity on the global agenda.

For more than 39 years, the UAE and Singapore have pro-actively fostered a productive and positive bilateral relationship underpinned by active trade and investment links, strong people-to-people ties and strategic cooperation in a range of fields. The Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum was established in 2007 as part of a joint commitment to deepen bilateral cooperation and explore new opportunities for collaboration in areas of mutual interest.