Minister S Iswaran participates in Extraordinary G20 Digital Economy Ministers Meeting

30 APR 2020

  1. Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran represented Singapore at the Extraordinary G20 Digital Economy Ministers Meeting held via video conference today. Singapore was invited by Saudi Arabia, which holds the 2020 G20 Presidency, to participate in the meeting.

  2. The video-conference was chaired by Minister of Communications and Information Technology H.E. Eng. Abdullah Amer Al-Swaha, and attended by Ministers from G20 member and guest countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United States, Viet Nam as well as representatives from global organisations such as the International Telecommunication Union and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

  3. During the meeting, the Ministers stressed the important role that digital technologies and relevant digital policies played in accelerating the collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministers agreed to focus on the following six key areas of work:

    a) Ensure access to inclusive, secure and affordable communication infrastructure and network connectivity;
    b) Ensure a safe and secure exchange of data; 
    c) Encourage research and deployment of digital health technologies;
    d) Leverage digital technologies and solutions to support and implement policies and initiatives to combat COVID-19;
    e) Ensure a secure and trusted online environment for information sharing to tackle malicious cyber activities and misinformation; and 
    f) Strengthen business resilience by supporting digitalisation efforts. 

  4. Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran said, “Singapore supports the efforts of G20 member and guest countries to accelerate the digitalisation of businesses and economies as a collective response to the public health, economic and communications challenges posed by COVID-19. A strong connectivity infrastructure is the foundation for digitalisation. Singapore’s early investments in 5G infrastructure will allow us to address current challenges, while realising the many exciting opportunities that digitalisation brings. We look forward to continue working with like-minded digital economy partners.”