Photo Credit: APEC Secretariat
Singapore called for deeper regional cooperation to maintain open supply chains, support the World Trade Organization, and strengthen digital trade efforts during the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting 2026 in China.
Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Ms. Grace Fu, represented Singapore at the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting 2026 held in Suzhou from 20 to 23 May 2026.
The meeting was chaired by People’s Republic of China and attended by trade ministers and representatives from 21 APEC economies. The discussions focused on strengthening regional cooperation under the theme “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together.”
During the meeting, ministers discussed the importance of maintaining an open and predictable regional and global trading system. They also addressed supply chain challenges currently affecting the Asia-Pacific region and reaffirmed their commitment to keeping trade corridors open to support smooth trade flows.
Minister Fu highlighted Singapore’s continued support for the rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core. She stressed the important role of APEC in improving supply chain resilience, promoting regional economic integration, and advancing paperless trade initiatives.
She also noted the importance of close cooperation between governments and the business community to strengthen trade and investment across the region.
The ministers further discussed the growth of the digital economy and the need to ensure that digital transformation benefits all economies. Key priorities included improving affordable and resilient digital infrastructure, promoting digital literacy and skills, accelerating interoperability, addressing online harms, and supporting capacity-building initiatives.
APEC economies also recognised the growing importance of emerging technologies in trade and the development of green infrastructure to support low-carbon trading in the future.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Fu joined discussions involving the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and held bilateral engagements with counterparts from Australia, Brunei, Chile, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and Thailand. She also met with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO.
Source: MTI
