Welcome Remarks by Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Baey Yam Keng at The Singapore Maritime and Business Mixer

His Excellency Marek Gróbarcyzk, Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation, Poland,

Ms Magdalena Bogdziewicz, Ambassador of Poland in Singapore,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.     Good morning. A very warm welcome to our Polish friends and business partners. It is my pleasure to be here today.

2.     Singapore and Poland celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties this year. Over the years, Singapore-Poland relations have grown from strength to strength. In 2013, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Poland, met with key Polish leaders and visited the city of Gdańsk, where Poland’s largest sea port is located. Just last year, Singapore Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan visited Szcecin and met Polish Minister Gróbarczyk at the International Maritime Organization World Maritime Day 2018 Parallel Event.

3.     Bilateral trade between Singapore and Poland has grown steadily with total trade at S$1.15 billion last year. This is 12% higher than in 2017. Today, more than 100 Polish companies have a presence in Singapore. Many Singapore companies also operate in Poland, in sectors such as precision engineering, shipbuilding and food manufacturing.

4.     In recent years, Singapore and Poland have stepped up efforts to strengthen investment and economic links. Singaporean and Polish companies can already tap on the Enterprise Europe Network. This helps small and medium-sized enterprisesinnovate and grow on an international scale by providing business advisory services and the contacts to do so.

5.     In 2016, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency set up its first Southeast Asian trade office in Singapore to explore collaboration in various industry clusters, including aviation, logistics and transportation. Two Polish missions visited Singapore in the last two years exploring opportunities in these industry clusters.

6.     Last year, we established a direct flight connection between Warsaw and Singapore. It was the first of such connections between Central-Eastern Europe and Singapore.

7.     For the maritime sector, Singapore’s PSA International signed an agreement in March this year with the Polish Development Fund and IFM’s Global Infrastructure Fund to jointly invest in the Deep-water Container Terminal in Gdańsk (DCT Gdańsk). This is the largest container terminal in Poland and one of the fastest growing container ports in Europe. It is also the only deep-water container terminal in the Baltic Sea that can serve ultra large container vessels. DCT Gdańsk is the largest Singaporean investment in Poland and marks PSA’s first investment in Eastern Europe. We are confident that such moves will spur development in the region, and strengthen ties between Poland and Singapore.
 
8.     In Singapore, PSA is developing our next-generation container port at Tuas. Tuas Port is designed to accommodate not just the largest container ships today but even bigger ones yet to be built. When completed in the 2040s, it will be a highly automated terminal, and will deliver new heights in efficiency, productivity and environmental sustainability. For example, a fleet of over 1,000 fully electric Automated Guided Vehicles will be deployed to move containers efficiently around Tuas Port.

9.     Beyond the port, space has been set aside for port-industry integration so that companies can benefit not just from the seaport connectivity but also the wider business ecosystem. The development of Tuas Port opens up new opportunities for the exchange of best practices and sharing of such experiences between our countries.

10.    Looking ahead, we see further opportunities for collaboration. Technological advances such as digitalisation and additive manufacturing, as well as the increasing emphasis on sustainability will disrupt the global maritime and logistics sector. There is much scope for businesses from Poland and Singapore to work together to develop innovative solutions to tackle opportunities and overcome challenges arising from these trends.

11.    Mixers like this are important to establish networks and contacts, which could lead to future opportunities for business collaborations and investment. I look forward to us working together to grow Poland-Singapore business ties in the years ahead. I wish all of you a fruitful day of networking. Thank you!