Singapore and India are making concerted efforts to address the climate change crisis in their respective countries and are committed to reduce carbon output, President Halimah Yacob told the Indian business community here on Thursday.
”One area we can collaborate on is the green economy. Both India and Singapore are making concerted efforts to address the climate change crisis in our respective countries and are committed to reduce our carbon outputs,” she told some members of the newly formed Federation of Singapore Indian Organisations (FSIO) – an umbrella body of 26 Indian organisations under the auspices of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI).
Singapore launched its Green Plan 2030 in February last year while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to cut the country’s emissions to net zero by 2070 at the COP26 climate talks last year. The plan cuts across various sectors of society such as infrastructural development, and research and innovation.
Halimah added that Singapore and India can cooperate on upstream initiatives to accelerate research, development, and deployment of sustainable and low-carbon tech solutions.
This can also be done through a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in science, technology and innovation that was signed between the two countries in February, she noted.
”Another area where private sector-led initiatives can create win-win solutions for both our companies and people is in the digital economy, where India and Singapore can partner to build digitally inclusive communities,” said Halimah.
For example, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Reserve Bank of India announced plans last September to link Singapore’s PayNow system – which lets individuals transfer money using just a mobile number – with India’s real-time payment system the Unified Payments Interface.
”SICCI-FSIO can advocate industry transformation, the adoption of digital technologies, and grow awareness of emerging areas of collaboration between Singapore and India,” she said.
The President highlighted that when the pandemic hit India, the business chamber also partnered the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association to raise more than SGD1 million (USD 720,00), and mobilised its network to deliver essential medical supplies in response to the humanitarian crisis in the South Asian country.
Meanwhile, she said the newly formed group of Indian organisations, FSIO, will engage youths with activities that encourage sharing of new ideas and expertise between people from different backgrounds.
The FSIO is an umbrella body of 26 Indian organisations under the auspices of SICCI and was formed in October 2021.
It aims to be a collective voice of Indian organisations in response to issues like pandemic-induced challenges, encourage networking through various community events, and support businesses in areas like digitalisation.
Halimah noted that SICCI’s efforts to engage youth include Catalyse 2020, a six-month initiative it organised together with four youth organisations – Narpani Pearavai Youth, Sinda Youth Club, Tamil Representative Council Youth Wing and Young Sikh Association – to encourage social entrepreneurship among around 150 young people.
”I am sure that with the FSIO member organisations working together, there will be more of such interesting and meaningful initiatives to bring together and develop the Indian youth community,” she said at a gala dinner held by SICCI and FSIO.
Halimah stressed that trade associations and chambers like the SICCI have been important advocates for businesses and industry transformation, and their role is especially crucial in the current business climate.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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