PM Lee Hsien Loong Called On World Leaders To Strengthen The Rules-Based Multilateral Trading System

At the G20 summit on Tuesday, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on world leaders to strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system and jointly accelerate the net-zero ambition. 

This is necessary to address food and energy globally. Uncertainty exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine,  Mr Lee said on the first day of the Group of 20 leaders' summit in the Indonesian resort island of Bali. 

It is important that all countries continue to have unhindered access to energy, food and agricultural commodities, especially in times of crisis," he said, adding that Singapore takes its role as a trusted hub for logistics, transport and energy very seriously. 

We look forward to working with partners to keep global supply chains free and open. Countries also need to increase sustainable financing  to meet climate targets and help hard-to-reduce sectors to decarbonize or transition to clean energy,  said.

Last month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore provided a new S$5 million grant aimed at funding studies into  innovative blended finance solutions and mobilizing capital in specific sectors in Asia. Lee cited the Asia Climate Solutions Design Grant as an example of how countries can support efforts to encourage greater private sector involvement in sustainable infrastructure projects. 

During his speech at the summit, he also highlighted Singapore's climate plans, which  include increasing carbon taxes and developing a hydrogen economy. Last month, the country set its climate targets  ahead of this year's UN climate summit (COP27), pledging to cut emissions to around 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) by 2030, after peaking earlier. Zero by 2050.

However, high production costs and a lack of infrastructure remain obstacles to the use of hydrogen in Singapore. Whether or not the country meets its climate targets will depend on how quickly it can overcome these barriers and technological advances. In his speech, Mr. Lee said Singapore looks forward to working with G20 partners to strengthen global food and energy security. 

Singapore is not a  member of the G20, but the country was invited to participate in many  summits  and related gatherings in as the coordinator of the Global Governance Group (3G), an informal grouping of 30 small and medium-sized members of the United States. Founded by Singapore in 2009,  3G aims to facilitate dialogue between the G20 and the wider UN membership.

Mr Lee will attend the meeting at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo in his capacity as Chair of this year's G20. During his three-day working visit, Mr. Lee will have bilateral meetings with other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit. He will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also Finance Minister, and Foreign  Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.