Singapore-UK digital economy agreement to boost digital trade, data flows between countries
SINGAPORE: An agreement between Singapore and the United Kingdom to boost digital trade and data flows between the countries entered into force on Tuesday (Jun 14).
The UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (UKSDEA) will give Singapore businesses the opportunity to grow in the digital economy, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said in a statement.
"Benefits to businesses include end-to-end digital trade such as safe and secure e-payments and paperless trading, ... (and) seamless and trusted data flows," they added.
The agreement will also provide greater online protection for consumers and safe and secure cross-border payments.
Singapore and the UK also signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) on digital trade facilitation, digital identities cooperation and cybersecurity.
Digitalising trade will lead to reduced costs for businesses, a reduction in the carbon footprint of trade, and improved access for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to engage in cross-border trade, said MTI, MCI and IMDA.
The MOU on digital identities aims to develop mutual recognition and interoperability between the digital identity regimes of Singapore and the UK.
The third MOU on cybersecurity highlights the countries' "common interest in addressing international challenges and promoting bilateral collaborations to strengthen cyber security", said MTI, MCI and IMDA.
It will build on existing cyber cooperation between Singapore and the UK on promoting cyber resilience and capacity building, they added.
The countries also signed two side-letters on FinTech cooperation and customs cooperation.
Negotiations on the UKSDEA began on Jun 28 last year, and the agreement was signed on Feb 25 this year by Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
