President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,
President of the Republic of Paraguay Santiago Peña,
President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Luis Lacalle Pou,
President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia Luis Arce,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
MERCOSUR has just signed a Free Trade Agreement with a tiny city state [that is] very far away.
Singapore is half the size of Rio de Janeiro. And I think it is worth asking the question, “Why did we sign this Agreement?”
In fact, we are speaking Spanish and English today because the Industrial Revolution began in Europe, and Southeast Asia and South America were colonised by the empires emanating from Europe. Our economic role, in those centuries, was to be a source of raw materials. And globalisation then was consistent with the transport of raw materials.
After the Second World War, certainly in the case of Singapore, and for many of us in Asia, we transformed our economies by importing technology from the West, creating conditions which were facilitative to investments from multinational corporations, and enabling us to achieve relevance in the global economy. Many of us in Asia and Singapore benefited from this.
But we are now living in an age where the old model of globalisation is under pressure. Workers worry about jobs. Civil society worries about inequality. There are anxieties about climate change and the release of carbon and pollutants into the environment. The new question then is whether economic integration is still relevant.
The point that Singapore wants to make is that economic integration is still absolutely crucial, if we are to create jobs for our workers, if we are to reduce inequality, if we are to be able to embed new technologies in our economies in order to create better value jobs for our people. So, for Singapore, today’s signing is very important.
I also recall that we signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Pacific Alliance in January 2022. And that means Singapore now has substantive Free Trade Agreements with most of South America.
This has been personally a very meaningful and long journey for me. During my first trip to Brazil in 2004, I tried to talk about a Free Trade Agreement between MERCOSUR and Singapore. Later, in 2017, when I happened to be in Buenos Aires in Argentina, I had the chance to meet the Foreign Ministers of the four MERCOSUR countries. And we decided then that it was worth starting this journey.
I want to say that each of the countries in MERCOSUR played a critical role in bringing us here. Let me give you an example. The scoping of the [MERCOSUR-Singapore] Free Trade Agreement and the first meeting of the Chief Negotiators took place in Uruguay in 2018. We held our first round of negotiations in Argentina in 2019. In 2022, we announced the substantial conclusion of negotiations at the MERCOSUR Summit in Paraguay. Now, here today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we are finally celebrating the signature of this Agreement.
When our five countries commenced major discussions on the Agreement several years ago, we did so as a [signal of our] commitment to economic integration.
I should also add that in the last five years, a lot of political upheaval has occurred. A lot of changes have occurred, even in South America. But I am glad, despite the political changes, that there still has been consensus to go ahead with this Agreement and to sign it with Singapore.
We are going to focus on doing five things:
First, to enhance trade through simplified customs procedures and increased transparency in order to enable more efficient clearance of goods.
Second, we will deepen cooperation to develop opportunities for small and medium enterprises to help them internationalise and develop entrepreneurial skills in order to remain relevant.
Third, we will facilitate digital trade and enhance trust in the digital economy and do so in a way that will give fair opportunities to all the citizens in our countries.
Fourth, we will enhance stability and predictability, so that investors will have more confidence to invest in our countries.
And fifth, because I notice that many of you, including President Peña and President Lula, were in Dubai for COP-28, I think we should also commit to doing more on the green economy and to look into operationalising carbon credits which are consistent with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
So, my friends, we have a lot to do. Singapore wants to express our deep appreciation to all of you for welcoming this tiny city state from the other half of the world into your family.
Thank you very much.