On June 5, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Singapore Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo co-led a Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence (AI) with representatives from U.S. and Singapore companies and government officials. The event highlighted the strong relationship between the United States and Singapore, emphasizing their cooperation on digital issues.
The fact sheet released in conjunction with the roundtable outlines shared principles and objectives related to AI, as well as plans for future collaboration between the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).
"We believe that the rise of AI, including generative AI, brings with it new and developing opportunities," stated the document. These opportunities include enhancing economic and social welfare, accelerating socially beneficial research, supporting competitive economic growth, and promoting fair markets. Both governments recognize AI's potential benefits in areas such as environmental sustainability, education, and healthcare.
Economic ties between the two nations are robust; nearly 6,000 U.S. companies operate in Singapore, contributing to bilateral trade that supports approximately 250,000 jobs across the United States. In 2023 alone, technology spending in Singapore reached SGD 22 billion (USD 16.3 billion), with significant investments from U.S. companies.
U.S. firms have committed over SGD 50 billion (USD 37 billion) to AI investments in partnership with local entities in Singapore over the next few years. These investments include establishing AI Centers of Excellence aligned with Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0 and raising the AI capabilities of more than 130,000 workers through initiatives like TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA).
Both countries acknowledge the challenges posed by rapid global proliferation of AI technologies. To address these challenges while maximizing benefits, Commerce has developed an AI Risk Management Framework through the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), while MCI has created AI Verify via the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). A mapping exercise has been completed to align these frameworks.
The fact sheet emphasizes that "the testing and evaluation of AI technologies should take into account trustworthiness considerations" to support governance objectives. It also underscores that governance should consider international standards on explainability, transparency, accountability, fairness, inclusivity, robustness, reproducibility, security, safety data governance among other principles.
Commerce and MCI plan to continue their cooperation on advancing an inclusive agenda for economic growth through enhanced AI competitiveness for both nations.
This collaboration complements ongoing work under other bilateral platforms such as the U.S.-Singapore Partnership for Growth and Innovation established by Commerce and Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry. It also aligns with efforts under the U.S.-Singapore CET Dialogue to develop a Roadmap for Digital Economic Cooperation which includes priority areas like AI.
The two countries aim to share best practices from these bilateral efforts with regional partners while supporting broader initiatives through international standards bodies like ASEAN's AI Roadmap.
