Singapore, Britain renew Economic and Business Partnership

Singapore and Britain renewed their Economic and Business Partnership (EBP) on Tuesday, paving the way for greater economic cooperation and new business opportunities in both countries, Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said.

The renewed EBP were signed by Singapore's trade minister Lim Hng Kiang and Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, who is on a three-day visit to the city state.

The MTI said both parties affirmed the robust and multi-faceted bilateral relations, and discussed the strengthening of economic cooperation and trade links.

Lim noted that against a backdrop of rising protectionist sentiments, Singapore and Britain will stay the course on free and open trade as like-minded and forward-looking partners.

"We will work together to promote the development of an open global trading environment," he said.

The renewed EBP builds on the original agreement, which was signed in October 2011, to facilitate regular and strategic dialogue at the senior officials' level, said the ministry.

Under the renewed EBP, new areas of cooperation include collaborating on trade policy capacity-building initiatives and establishing a working group to deepen strong trade and investment ties.

According to the MTI, Britain is Singapore's fourth largest European trading partner, with total bilateral trade valued at 11.4 billion Singapore dollars (8.01 billion U.S. dollars). Singapore is the UK's largest trading and investment partner in ASEAN and also the gateway to the region for many British businesses. Endit