NASA Deputy Administrator Colonel Pam Melroy,

 

State Department Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jennifer Littlejohn,

 

Colleagues from the United States and Singapore, and members of the media,

 

1 Good morning to all of you.

 

2 It is a great pleasure for me to be here this morning, to sign the Artemis Accords on behalf of the Government of Singapore. The Accords provides useful guidance for international cooperation on civil space exploration. It is a meaningful step towards the development and promotion of international norms in space, to support the safe, sustainable and responsible conduct of space activities.

 

3 Space-based technologies are important to many civilian and government functions. We also see strong economic potential in the application of space-based technologies in domains of great interest to us, such as aviation, maritime and the environment.

 

4 We have therefore been working hard to support the development of our relatively nascent but fast-growing space ecosystem. Over the years, we have established several centres of excellence in our universities and research institutions focusing on space-related R&D. In April 2020, the Singapore Government expanded the mandate of our Office for Space Technology & Industry, or OSTIn in short, to become a full-fledged national space office. OSTIn plays an “aggregator” role in bringing local players together to develop capabilities in emerging and potentially disruptive technologies. One example is how OSTIn forged a consortium involving our universities and local companies to develop Very Low Earth Orbit satellite solutions, which play an increasingly important role in telecommunications.

 

5 Today, our space industry counts more than 50 companies and over 1,800 professionals. They are engaged in a wide range of activities, from the design and manufacture of space components to the provision of satellite-based services, and provide meaningful and exciting careers for our people.

 

6 I hope that by joining the Artemis Accords, Singapore will be able to cooperate more closely with like-minded partners like the US, to progress the international conversation on space norms and spur the development of the global space sector. I look forward to seeing more exchanges and collaborations among companies, officials, researchers and youths, between Singapore and the US, as well as other Artemis Accords signatories, leading to a robust space sector in Singapore. This will allow Singapore to better contribute to the common objective of harnessing space for the collective betterment and benefit of humankind.

 

7 Thank you.