"ROK-Singapore Cooperation is Not a Choice, but a Shared Survival Strategy"

"I want to send a strong message to the world that like-minded countries like South Korea and Singapore are cooperating for mutual benefits, as well as for regional growth and stability."

Gan Siow Huang, Singapore's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry, made the remarks on the 6th during a meeting with a delegation of South Korean journalists visiting Singapore through a journalist exchange program organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Singapore.

She explained that as a fair and open rules-based trading order is being shaken by certain countries, strategic cooperation between the two highly trade-dependent nations is not a choice, but a shared survival strategy.

She introduced that since the signing of the South Korea-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA), bilateral trade has steadily expanded, growing at an annual average of 11% over the past five years.

Moving forward, she emphasized the need to further broaden the doors of cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), energy, and people-to-people exchanges.

Regarding Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in particular, she stated, "We have not yet decided whether to adopt them," while expressing a desire to leverage South Korea's experience and expertise in the process of examining safety and feasibility through the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) process.

At the ASEAN level, she noted that South Korea's technology, talent, and financial resources are needed to establish regional nuclear safety standards and build the ASEAN Power Grid.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.