Secretary Chen Min’er,
Mayor Hu Henghua,
Governor Huang Qiang,
Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen.
1. Good morning. It is my pleasure to join you today at the Opening Ceremony of the Fifth Smart China Expo, or SCE. Singapore is pleased to co-organise the SCE again this year, with a strong participation of more than 50 Singapore companies.
2. The focus of this year’s SCE on Smart Cities is relevant, given the many possibilities for technology and data to be used for master-planning and improving the urban quality of life. Singapore is also exploring smart city development through adapting existing and new forms of physical and digital infrastructure, and fitting them seamlessly into everyday life. The Punggol Digital District, one of our townships, will be the first district in Singapore to fully integrate digital infrastructure and smart technologies by 2024. This is made possible through the Open Digital Platform, which allows for the collection of data from sensors and systems within the district, and for these systems to communicate with each other to perform daily operations such as facilities management, district cooling, and even autonomous goods delivery. The SCE will be a valuable platform for us to exchange ideas and experiences in smart city development and generate other exciting solutions.
3. Supporting such exchanges at the SCE is the 4th International Dedicated Connectivity Forum*, co-organised by the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority and the Chongqing Big Data Application and Development Administrative Bureau. The International Dedicated Connectivity, or IDC, has demonstrated its capabilities in facilitating the flow of trade, services and information between Singapore and Chongqing. As part of our joint efforts to promote the IDC, the Forum will explore the generation of more use-cases for the IDC and expand its adoption in Western China and Southeast Asia.
4. At the heart of Singapore-Chongqing collaborations in ICT is the partnerships among our businesses to create innovative services and products. This year’s IDC Forum* will see the signing of MOUs^ across areas such as Smart Cities, Transport and Logistics, and Edu-Tech. The Joint Innovation and Development Fund continues to support the development of innovative projects undertaken jointly by Singapore and Chongqing companies. To give just one example, Singapore company Strange Universe Holdings and Chongqing Haisiyun Technology will develop a Metaverse conference platform, which will use augmented and virtual reality to enhance the interactions between users across the physical and digital space.
*The International Dedicated Connectivity (IDC) Forum, originally scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the 5th Smart Expo China (SCE), has since been postponed indefinitely.
^ The MOU signing ceremony, originally scheduled to take place at the IDC Forum, has since been postponed together with the Forum to a later date.
5. Such joint projects, some of which might not have been conceivable just a few years ago, are testament to the sector’s rapid development and importance. With the visionaries gathered here today, I am confident that we will identify new ideas and trends to harness our capabilities, to deliver more benefits to our people and economies in smart city living and other areas. Thank you.