U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo traveled to Singapore this week to participate in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Ministerial meeting. During the event, IPEF partners signed the Clean Economy Agreement, Fair Economy Agreement, and the Agreement on IPEF, further advancing progress on these accords as well as on the Supply Chain Agreement that came into force in February.
Raimondo welcomed the next Ministerial meeting, scheduled to be held virtually in September 2024. Alongside 22 American companies, she also participated in the inaugural IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum. At this forum, IPEF partners announced $23 billion in priority projects aimed at accelerating sustainable infrastructure investments in the region.
“Two years ago, the President launched IPEF with the vision of creating a new framework for economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific that would deepen our ties with the region and support economic growth," said Raimondo. "Today, as we sign these agreements and continue to collaborate through innovative IPEF tools we’ve created, it is clear that the President’s vision has become a reality."
She added: “At the Clean Economy Investor Forum, we announced $23 billion of investment opportunities for sustainable infrastructure projects; surpassed our IPEF Upskilling Initiative commitment of providing 7 million training and education opportunities; and launched the IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund. This is just the beginning of benefits flowing from IPEF.”
The ministerial meeting included a signing ceremony for various agreements and discussions on further steps under Pillars II (Supply Chain), III (Clean Economy), and IV (Fair Economy). The next virtual ministerial meeting will review additional progress made by then.
During her visit, Raimondo also engaged in bilateral meetings with several leaders including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat of Singapore. Topics discussed ranged from supply chain resiliency to clean energy and digital economy collaboration.
Furthermore, Raimondo led an AI roundtable discussion with Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo which resulted in shared principles on AI collaboration. She also convened an Australia-U.S. Strategic Commercial Dialogue with Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell.
In addition to these engagements, Raimondo highlighted that Department of Commerce’s IPEF Upskilling Initiative had surpassed its 2032 goal by providing 10.9 million upskilling opportunities within two years since its launch.
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