SINGAPORE - Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam gave his take on several issues during a virtual dialogue at the Singapore Tech Forum on Thursday .
"And that might give the impression of some waning of globalisation. But actually, it's the same story - it's about a country that's emerging and moving up the global value curve and creating more value for itself and others," said Mr Tharman, noting that China's exports are stronger than ever, even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
This, he added, is possible through data flows, which are global and instantaneous, making them efficient.Covid-19 has made clear the need for hubs which international companies can count on to continue doing business in a stable manner, even amidst unprecedented challenges.Some are hubs of talent, some hubs reflect reliable collaboration opportunities between businesses and their governments, and some are connectivity hubs that facilitate links to other stakeholders internationally.
"Our future is as a hub - a hub for talent, local and foreign; a hub that is connected to the rest of the world as efficiently as possible, and where data in particular flows in and out without friction; but also a hub in the new sense that is very important, which is about resilience - predictable, reliable, and resilient," he added.