Enterprise Singapore and Innovation Norway have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen innovation collaboration between Singapore and Norway. The MOU will facilitate business roundtables, study visits, trade missions and networking activities for knowledge exchange, and drive innovation cooperation to address market needs between the two countries.
The MOU was signed by Mr Png Cheong Boon, Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore and Mr Håkon Haugli, Chief Executive Officer of Innovation Norway at the inaugural Singapore Norway Innovation Conference on 29 September 2020. The Singapore Norway Innovation Conference was organised by the Norwegian Business Association Singapore in collaboration with Innovation Norway and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Singapore, and supported by Enterprise Singapore.
Mr Clarence Hoe, Global Markets Director for the Americas and Western Europe at Enterprise Singapore, notes: “Through the signing of this MOU, we aim to strengthen the scope of collaboration between Norwegian and Singapore enterprises. Singapore enterprises will benefit from market opportunities arising from co-innovation projects with Norwegian corporates.”
“Singapore enterprises seeking to transform their business and solutions would also gain access to Norwegian innovation and technology, especially in the areas of maritime, food, healthcare and infrastructure. Norwegian companies seeking to grow in Asia can tap Singapore’s business infrastructure, financing and vibrant business network to springboard to the region. We look forward to working closely with Innovation Norway to create platforms and project opportunities that would be of interest and relevance to our respective companies.”
The agreement focus on these priority sectors:
The blue economy, including maritime digitalisation and automation, marine and offshore technologies and applications, and offshore renewables and subsea.
Sustainable urban solutions and clean technologies, including hydrogen value chain, decarbonisation, energy efficiency and transportation.
Healthcare and biomedical sciences, including digital health, artificial intelligence (AI), hospital IT and efficiency, telemedicine and medtech solutions.
Agri- and food-tech and aquaculture, including land-based and floating enclosed recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), sustainable feed production, resource-efficient urban agriculture, and new food sources.
Mr Paul Kastmann, Director for Innovation Norway in Singapore, underlines the importance of the agreement: “Norway has always had a strong connection to Singapore, dating back to the mid-1800s. The ocean industries have traditionally been the most important pillar of this relationship. This is still the case, but relatively new sectors such as smart cities, health tech and food security are growing rapidly. At the same time, the traditional industries are going through disruptive changes, such as digitisation, automation and decarbonisation. Innovation and international collaboration are important to secure the future of our respective industries and with this agreement we aim to strengthen both.”
