Talents to play key role in directing Singapore's development: minister

SINGAPORE, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Friday that talents will play an increasingly important part in directing Singapore's next phase of growth to become an innovation-driven economy, the Straits Times reported.

Chan made the remarks in his first public speech at a lunch organized by the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore since he assumed the post on Monday.

The minister said beyond connectivity and a pro-business environment, another key criterion for Singapore's continued success is being open to talent. He said Singapore is maintaining a strong Singaporean core through programs like SkillsFuture, which helps Singaporeans upgrade and reskill, and it goes in tandem with remaining open to foreign talent.

"Foreign labor complements Singaporean workers and brings along relevant skills to create new industries and job opportunities," he said. "This is crucial to our longer term competitiveness, and ensures that we stay relevant to a dynamic region that is fast evolving and growing."

Singaporean Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said early in April that the city-state will maintain its tight foreign manpower policies for now to encourage companies to transform, but he added that there is room for reviewing the policies in the longer term.

On Thursday, Heng mentioned Singapore's manpower policies again in his speech at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Conference 2018, saying the country will not only need to do its best to develop Singaporean talents, but also collaborate with talents all over the world and bring in the right talents for Singapore. Enditem