Many opportunities for S'pore even in an uncertain world, says PM Lee

He welcomes broadening Apec agenda and is encouraged by Singaporean start-ups in US

- Bhagyashree Garekar

SAN FRANCISCO - Even in a complicated world bereft of strategic stability and spewing dire warnings on trade, opportunities are multiplying for Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said as he wrapped up his six-day working visit to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum.

There are plenty of signs that Singapore is making good and there is room to grow, PM Lee told Singapore media in San Francisco on Nov 17.

Some of the reasons for hope, he said, include a new Asia-Pacific economic initiative on the horizon; the broadening of Apec's agenda beyond trade; a sliver of hope from the Biden-Xi summit; and the admirable dynamism of Singaporean start-ups that have cracked the Silicon Valley code.

The 30th annual meeting of the 21 Apec economies ended with a declaration reaffirming determination "to deliver a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, inclusive, and predictable trade and investment environment".

Apec members also backed moves to reform the World Trade Organisation, including reviving its hobbled dispute settlement system. Support for ending the bloody Gaza conflict and Ukraine war did not figure in the final joint communique.

"Even in a complicated world, there are opportunities," PM Lee said.

"We are not the last in queue to reach those opportunities. In fact, we are quite high up the list, and we should get further up." Prospects remain challenging for global growth, but there are upsides for Singapore, he said.

"The markets are there; the opportunities are there. We have to seize them, and we have to be able to export, to get people to notice Singapore and want to come to Singapore.

"I think that is happening," he added, pointing to the launch of Enterprise Singapore's San Francisco Overseas Centre on Nov 14, its third in the United States.