Categories
-Top News India News Singapore

India, Singapore to jointly develop new products for societal challenges


This MoU will remain in effect for a period of five years and will be automatically extended for a successive period of five years…reports Asian Lite News

Industry and research institutes from India and Singapore would soon jointly develop new products related to economic and societal challenges.

This will come following through a MoU on cooperation in the fields of science, technology, and innovation signed between Indian’s Department of Science and Technology, and Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The MoU signed by Secretary, Science and Technology, S. Chandrasekhar and Permanent Secretary, Lee Chuan Teck, will follow a demand-driven approach in developing cooperation, facilitating companies and institutions that wish to optimise the benefit arising from the cooperation, for encouraging companies and institutions to cooperate and utilise programmes, which promote the mobility of scientists and high-level experts.

Recognising the importance of international cooperation in the fields of science, technology, and innovation for the two countries’ economic and social development, the MoU would strengthen India-Singapore Science, Technology, and Innovation Collaboration.

The cooperative activities will include sharing experiences on the national research, development, and innovation policies and programmes of each country, exchanging and sharing of scientific and technological information, organising partnership development activities, workshops, scientific seminars, and conferences covering fields on issues of common interest, joint research and development projects, including industrial R&D to advance technology development for commercial outcomes, exchange of scientists, researchers, technicians, and research students, training of scientists, researchers, technicians, and research students, a release from Ministry of Science and Technology said.

It will encourage, develop and facilitate cooperation between India and Singapore in fields of common interest in science, technology, and innovation, including areas like agriculture and food science and technology, advanced manufacturing and engineering, green economy, energy, water, climate, and natural resources, data science, emerging technologies, advanced materials, and health and biotechnology.

This MoU will remain in effect for a period of five years and will be automatically extended for a successive period of five years.

Following the signing of MoU, an implementation agreement was also signed between the Department of Science and Technology, and Enterprise Singapore by S.K. Varshney, Adviser & Head, International Cooperation, and Edwin Chow, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, the release said.

ALSO READ-After 2 yrs, int’l flights resume on Mar 27

Categories
-Top News Europe Singapore

Singapore sanctions big Russian banks over Ukraine invasion

Along with the Central Bank of Russia, the sanctions targeted four Russian banks: VTB, Vnesheconombank, Promsvyazbank and Bank Rossiya, reports Asian Lite News

Singapore has introduced sanctions on the Russian Central Bank and some other Russian banks as well as imposed restrictions on the exports to the country over the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the Singaporean Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

“Financial institutions in Singapore will be prohibited from the following: … entering into transactions or arrangements, or providing financial services that facilitate fund raising by: the Russian government; the Central Bank of the Russian Federation; any entity owned or controlled by them or acting on their direction or behalf. The prohibitions apply to buying and selling new securities, providing financial services that facilitate new fund raising by, and making or participate in the making of any new loan to the above entities,” the ministry said in a statement.

Photo taken on March 1, 2022 shows armed personnel in Donetsk. (Photo by (Victor_Xinhua_IANS)

The sanctions targeted four Russian banks: VTB, Vnesheconombank, Promsvyazbank and Bank Rossiya.

“In order to constrain Russia’s capacity to conduct its war in Ukraine and cyber aggression, all permit applications to Russia involving (a) all items on the List of Military Goods under the SGCO; and (b) all category codes under Category 3 – Electronics, Category 4 – Computers and Category 5 – Telecommunications and “Information Security” on the List of Dual-Use Goods under the SGCO will be rejected,” the statement added. (ANI/Sputnik)

ALSO READ: ‘If Ukraine falls, Europe falls’

Categories
-Top News India News

MEA objects to Singapore PM’s comment on Nehru, Indian MPs 

The remarks by the Prime Minister of Singapore were uncalled for. We are taking up the matter with the Singaporean side,” a source said…reports Asian Lite News

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday called the High Commissioner of Singapore to India, Simon Wong over the remarks made by the Prime Minister of Singapore during a parliamentary debate.

India on Thursday termed as “uncalled for” Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s remarks in which he had referred to “Nehru’s India” and to criminal charges faced by MPs. The matter has been taken up with the Singaporean side, sources said. The Singapore PM had referred to “Nehru’s India” while talking about India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the context of working of democracies during debate on the report of the committee of privileges of Parliament. He had also referred to media reports about pending cases against Lok Sabha MPs.

“The remarks by the Prime Minister of Singapore were uncalled for. We are taking up the matter with the Singaporean side,” a source said.

“Nehru’s India has become one where, according to media reports, almost half the MPs in the Lok Sabha have criminal charges pending against them, including charges of rape and murder,” Loong said, adding that “it is also said that many of these allegations are politically motivated”.

“Most countries are founded and start off on the basis of high ideals and noble values. But more often than not, beyond the founding leaders and the pioneer generation, over decades and generations, gradually things change,” Lee said.

“Things start off with a passionate intensity. The leaders, who fought for and won independence, are often exceptional individuals of great courage, immense culture, and outstanding ability. They came through the crucible of fire and emerged as leaders of men and nations. They are the David Ben-Gurions, the Jawaharlal Nehrus, and we have our own too,” he added.

ALSO READ-MEA sets up control room to help Indians in Ukraine

Categories
-Top News Singapore UAE News

Singapore keen to partner with UAE towards low-carbon economy

Singapore is keen to collaborate with the UAE through new projects and solutions, as well as the exchange of expertise to achieve low-carbon economy, said a minister from Singapore…reports Asian Lite News

Grace Fu Hai Yien, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment of the Republic of Singapore, who was visiting the UAE for the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), said that the UAE has many ideas and strategies to decarbonise its economy and “that’s exactly where Singapore is heading as well”.

“In this journey of decarbonisation, there will be many new opportunities and technologies [which need to be tested and piloted]. So, I’m here to explore the opportunities for us to work together in this new phase of sustainable development,” Minister Grace Fu told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) in an interview.

One of the areas of interest for Singapore to explore here is sustainable food, in which Minister Grace Fu believes the UAE is progressing well.

Grace Fu Hai Yien

“We are looking at low-carbon, high-efficiency production because resources are very scarce. We want to reduce our water usage, our energy usage and get the best system up there, so we can produce food sustainably,” she said, adding that Singapore is developing a new area, similar to the UAE’s Food Tech Valley, to meet its food security goals.

Launched last year by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,  Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the Food Tech Valley is an initiative that seeks to triple the UAE’s food production by creating an integrated modern city that will serve as a hub for future clean tech-based food and agricultural products and an incubator for researchers, entrepreneurs, startups and industry experts.

Meanwhile, the Lim Chu Kang area in Singapore will be developed into a high-tech agri-food zone that can raise food production in a sustainable and resource-efficient manner, with an aim to strengthen Singapore’s food security.

“We are having discussion with the [UAE] Minister of Climate Change and the Environment to look at whether we could come up with some projects and maybe pilot some technologies. I think there are many areas where we [can] find commonalities and common topics,” the minister said.

Another area of interest is the UAE’s net-zero strategy. “Talking to some of the UAE ministers and decision makers about how they see the transition to [net-zero economy] was very interesting because we are also looking at net-zero path and obviously we are looking for new solutions,” Minister Grace Fu said.

Last year, the UAE announced its commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, thus becoming the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to make such a commitment. Meanwhile, Singapore aspires to halve its emissions from its peak by 2050, with a view to achieving net zero emissions as soon as viable in the second half of the century.

ALSO READ: MBZ, US Defence Secy review strategic ties

“This transition towards renewable energy and also to look at how we can decorbonise as societies, give me a lot of inspiration,” she said.

The Minister also voiced confidence in the UAE’s ability to tackle some of the pressing issues related to climate change and global warming during the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which the UAE will host in Abu Dhabi in 2023.

One of those issues is building up a cardon credit market, that is of high standard and that is functioning for the needs that’s up there.

“The compliance market, airlines, maritime, shipping, are all sectors that are looking for carbon credit solutions, in addition to new technologies. I think there are immense opportunities for discussion and I think it will be the leadership of COP27 and the leadership of COP28 that will guide us towards that future,” she concluded.

Categories
Singapore Travel World

Malaysia suspends vaccinated travel lane with Singapore

The suspension will run from December 23 to January 20 next year…reports Asian Lite News

Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to suspend the sale of flight and bus tickets for the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) after a cluster of possible cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was detected in Singapore, Malaysia’s Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Wednesday.

Malaysia suspends vaccinated travel lane with Singapore

The suspension will run from December 23 to January 20 next year, Khairy said in a statement following Singapore’s announcement of the same measure, Xinhua news agency reported.

Khairy said the cluster in Singapore involved three Covid infections. “All three cases did not have any travel history to foreign countries,” he said.

The VTL kicked off on November 29 and involved travel via the bridge connecting Malaysia to Singapore as well as an air corridor. The bridge link, or causeway, was one of the busiest crossing points in the world with a daily flow of hundreds of thousands of people in both directions before the pandemic.

ALSO READ: Singapore reports 335 new Covid cases

Some restrictions were eased as part of the VTL including quarantine requirements being waived for fully vaccinated individuals.

Categories
COVID-19 News World

Singapore reports 335 new Covid cases

Singapore reported 335 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally in the country to 276,720…reports Asian Lite News

Of the new cases, 245 were in the community, 14 were in migrant worker dormitories and 76 were imported cases, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statistics released on Wednesday by the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH).

Singapore reports 335 new Covid cases

A total of 428 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 23 cases being critically ill in the intensive care units (ICUs). The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 52.7 per cent.

One more patient has passed away from complications due to Covid infection, bringing the death toll to 818, the MOH said.

ALSO READ: Global Covid caseload tops 277.1 mn

The ministry announced in a press release on Wednesday that Singapore will impose limits on the number of Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) arrivals for the time being, to limit its exposure to imported Omicron cases.

Categories
Asia News Sri Lanka World

Sri Lanka-China tussle intensifies as Qingdao fertiliser company to pursue arbitration in Singapore

With the Qingdao statement, the fertiliser controversy between Sri Lanka and China has only grown. Qingdao also said that statements made by the ministry are false, reports Sri Lanka website News First…writes Rahul Kumar

Chinese fertiliser company Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group says that it has taken Sri Lanka to an arbitration centre in Singapore. It has refuted statements by Sri Lankas Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage on Monday that Qingdao had agreed to pursue the arbitration process over contaminated fertiliser in Sri Lanka.

With the Qingdao statement, the fertiliser controversy between Sri Lanka and China has only grown. Qingdao also said that statements made by the ministry are false, reports Sri Lanka website News First.

Sri Lanka-China tussle intensifies as Qingdao fertiliser company to pursue arbitration in Singapore

The fertiliser issue, which is into its four month, is beginning to strain the friendly relations between the two countries.

Sri Lanka had, in a bid to turn the country organic, decided to use only organic fertiliser for all its crops. But the shortage of fertiliser prompted it to import the commodity from China. The Sri Lankan agriculture ministry selected Qingdao for fertiliser imports but the samples were found to be contaminated with harmful pathogens including erwinia which damages cash crops.

Sri Lanka canceled the Qingdao order but the company insisted that Colombo had violated the contract for the organic fertilizer. It placed its contaminated fertiliser ship close to the Colombo Port in a bid to force Sri Lanka to accept its rejected product.

After a number of Sri Lankan scientists weighed in on the agriculture ministry about the poor quality of the fertiliser, Sri Lanka asked its State-owned bank, the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka not to release payments to Qingdao.

The Chinese embassy in Colombo jumped into the fray and backed Qingdao, issuing a barrage of tweets on how Sri Lanka’s agriculture ministry had defaulted in the contract. The embassy also blacklisted the State-owned Sri Lankan bank.

Qingdao’s fertiliser ship Hippo Spirit reportedly sailed back to China, but never reached its port of destination. It was later tracked to the Strait of Malacca close to Singapore and Thailand where it had switched off its tracker. Curiously, the ship came back to Sri Lanka with the same rejected fertiliser but under a different name.

Now, the fertiliser company has sought compensation of $8 million from Sri Lanka and sent a legal notice. The compensation includes cost for production, freight, legal fees, money for losing goodwill and reputation due to the controversy. The damages also include interest.

In its defence, the company also says that it had intimated Sri Lanka that it could not provide bacteria-free fertiliser.

About a couple of weeks back, the warring sides had reached an agreement. Under the agreement, Sri Lanka had decided to pay the compensation to Qingdao and in return the company had agreed to take back its ship to China and not unload the fertiliser on Sri Lanka.

But with the latest statement by Qingdao, it seems the controversy is still open. Anna Song, the Deputy General Manager of the Chinese company reportedly told Sri Lankan media organisation News First that “the local authorities could not be trusted again and that the arbitration would take place only in Singapore”.

The Hippo Spirit ship now seems to be sailing back to Singapore with its 20,000 metric tonnes of contaminated fertiliser to pursue arbitration against Sri Lanka in Singapore.

ALSO READ: Plaque omits Tamil evokes fury in Srilanka

Over the last three months, the Chinese company and the embassy have tried to create a rift in the Sri Lankan government between the ministry of agriculture, the National Plant Quarantine Service and the Ceylon Fertiliser Corporation over the sale of organic fertiliser.

The current government, which is known to be close to Beijing, is confronting hard realities. The Hambantota Port had to be given to a Chinese company on a 99-year lease, hardball diplomacy over fertilisers and minor cultural controversies that have tended to cleave the Sri Lankan society are issues that just might end up fraying Chinese-Sri Lankan relations.

Categories
-Top News Singapore

Govt inks comprehensive digital trade deal with Singapore

The Singapore DEA will overhaul trade rules, so they are tailored to UK business. Wide-ranging benefits include better data flows, stronger cybersecurity and closer links between two hi-tech and services hubs…reports Asian Lite News.

The government on Thursday secured an agreement in principle with Singapore for a Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) that will cut costs, slash red tape and pave the way for a new era of trade.

It is the first digitally-focused trade agreement ever signed by a European nation. This comprehensive digital trade deal was agreed on in record time by International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Singapore Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S. Iswaran after just six months of negotiations.

The DEA will take our trading relationship with Singapore – worth £16 billion in 2020 – to the next level by overhauling outdated trade rules that affect both goods and services exporters, making it easier for UK business to target new opportunities in both Singapore and lucrative Asian markets.

Anne Marie Trevelyan MP

A third of UK’s exports to Singapore are already digitally delivered, including in finance, advertising and engineering, and this deal will create new opportunities to expand digital trade. Services companies will be the big winners, from financial and telecoms giants like Standard Chartered or BT Group to software companies like Wales-based Awen Collective.

The deal will boost a sector that adds £151 billion to the economy and lifts wages, with workers in the digital economy earning around 50% more than the UK average. UK-founded tech unicorns are being created at a rate of almost one a week, and more will now be able to follow in the footsteps of British companies like Revolut, Darktrace and Checkout.com, which are already thriving in Singapore.

Goods exporters will also benefit from streamlining cumbersome border processes. Time-consuming and costly paperwork can be replaced with e-signatures, e-contracts and electronic invoicing with greater confidence.

Singapore is a gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region and the DEA will support our bid to join Singapore and 10 other nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Membership would mean access to a £8.4 trillion free trade area with vast opportunities for UK business.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said, “This cutting-edge agreement with Singapore links two of the world’s most dynamic hi-tech hubs and plays to our strengths as pioneers in digital trade. Negotiated in just six months, it is the first digital trade deal ever signed by a European nation and will slash red tape, cut costs and support well-paid jobs across the whole UK. Digital trade is creating a new global economy, but it is still largely governed by old-fashioned rules that pre-date the digital revolution of the past 20 years. We’re using our independent trade policy to strike ground-breaking agreements that update these rules for the digital age and connect UK businesses to the biggest and fastest-growing markets in the world.”

The DEA is the latest and most ambitious digital trade win following new agreements with Japan, Australia and New Zealand that all contain advanced digital chapters. Under the UK’s Presidency, G7 countries agreed on ground-breaking Digital Trade Principles in October, which will help to modernise trade and spread the benefits of technology more widely.

The Singapore DEA will overhaul trade rules, so they are tailored to UK business. Wide-ranging benefits include better data flows, stronger cybersecurity and closer links between two hi-tech and services hubs.

Data flows are essential for providing services digitally: in 2019, 86% of the UK’s global financial services exports were digitally delivered, as were 84% of our global exports of telecommunications, computer and information services. The deal promotes personal data protection, and locks in free and trusted cross-border data flows, enabling everything from more efficient manufacturing and supply chains to more reliable infrastructure and effective maintenance of jet engines. UK companies will not have to pay for expensive data storage and processing in Singapore to do business there.

The deal establishes a new partnership with Singapore to build ever-stronger cybersecurity defences against attacks by private operators or hostile states, which are a growing threat to individuals and businesses. Companies like Coventry’s CyberOwl and Caerphilly-based Awen Collective have set up in Singapore and are poised to be at the forefront of protecting critical national infrastructure and businesses against cyber risks, fraud, money laundering, terrorism funding and organised crime.

The DEA links two of the world’s most dynamic hi-tech and services hubs, opening up a 6,000-mile trade superhighway between the UK and Asia. Building on the success of the UK-Singapore Fintech Bridge, it will enable future growth sectors like fintech and lawtech to benefit from deep cooperation with another advanced economy, cementing the UK’s position as a world leader in these fields.

Andy Burwell, CBI Director, International, said, “It’s extremely promising to see the UK agree its first-ever digital trade deal with Singapore. This deal will help to unlock digital trade and support key industries of the future, driving forward the UK’s global competitiveness, jobs and growth. Services will underpin the UK’s economic growth and therefore the UK’s Global Britain ambitions. Enabling digital exports in its broadest sense, and importantly the free flow of data, is integral. This agreement is only the starting point for what can be achieved through global collaboration on digital.”

ALSO READ-UAE, Singapore can play crucial role in driving GCC-ASEAN trade ties

Categories
-Top News Singapore UAE News

UAE, Singapore can play crucial role in driving GCC-ASEAN trade ties

The agreement bringing the two countries together focuses on six areas, Shegar noted: Defence and security, finance, sustainable development, health, education, and human resources development…reports Asian Lite News

Close economic ties between the UAE and Singapore have enormous potential to develop into wider ASEAN-Gulf trade relations, according to industry experts speaking today at the Global Business Forum ASEAN in Dubai.

The forum, organised by Dubai Chamber in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai, featured a session titled Leveraging Hubs – The UAE-Singapore Dialogue, which was joined by Hassan Al Hashemi, Vice President of International Relations at Dubai Chamber, and Dr Brian Shegar, President of the UAE-Singapore Business Council.

UAE, Singapore can play crucial role in driving GCC-ASEAN trade ties

“We need to utilise forums such as the Global Business Forum ASEAN to see where we can move forward from here,” asserted Al Hashemi. “One of the most notable things we did with the first-ever GBF ASEAN is publish a paper that gives an overview of our bilateral relationship and where we can come together – Dubai and Singapore – to take the relationship forward.”

“The paper specified four sectors where we can see an accelerated improvement,” Al Hashemi added. “First is transport and logistics, where we are can enhance the use of our knowledge and expertise to expand trade ties between our regions. Second, we can mention agribusiness and food: we know 90% of what we consume is imported, which is why agribusiness and food security are at the top of our government’s agenda. We need to see how we can build on this partnership to truly tackle this issue.”

“The third sector is retail and ecommerce, where the pandemic has really pushed companies to have an online presence,” he continued. “and finally, there are Financial services and fintech. This is just an example of what we can do collectively to look beyond the UAE and Singapore and connect as two prominent hubs to bring value in terms of trade.”

For his part, Dr Brian Shegar said: “Singapore and the UAE have shared an excellent relationship beginning in 1985, when diplomatic ties were first established between the two countries. This makes the UAE Singapore’s leading trade partner, and vice versa, Singapore is the UAE’s leading commercial partner in the ASEAN region.”

“In terms of investment, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw substantial investments made. This year, for example, GIC – which is Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund – invested USD 600 million in the ADNOC crude pipeline project, which was an important milestone,” Dr Shegar explained, adding that the relationship between the two culminated in February 2019 with the official visit by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,  Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to Singapore.

The agreement bringing the two countries together focuses on six areas, Shegar noted: “Defence and security, finance, sustainable development, health, education, and human resources development.”

In a separate session focusing on the Islamic economy and its power to shape the global economic recovery, Ayman Amin Sejiny, Chief Executive Officer, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, Saudi Arabia, was joined by Dr Mohamed Damak, Senior Director and Global Head of Islamic Finance, S&P Global, UAE in a session titled Islamic Finance: Forging New Links. The conversations highlighted the latest state of the global Islamic economy report, which put the value of Islamic finance worldwide at almost USD 2.9 trillion in 2019, with some estimates putting the worldwide halal economy at more than USD 11 trillion by the end of this decade.

Sejini, stressed that the time is ideal to promote the spread of Islamic banking, especially after the world began to emerge from the recession last year due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. He explained that Islamic banking products and services are consistent with the standards of environment, society and governance, thus comply with the frameworks of sustainable development, and adopt the principles of ethical investment in doing business. He noted that financial technology is a major supporter of the Islamic banking sector, giving it the ability to provide effective solutions, facilitate access to its products and services, support the issuance of sukuk, and advance the sector’s growth and prosperity.

ALSO READ: GBF ASEAN: Dubai as economic role model for RCEP

“Great trade businesses between Dubai, the GCC and the ASEAN, as well as the excitement to be able to access product and services throughout, will go greater and stronger than ever before will be the game changers in the industry. I feel fintech will be the future of Islamic financing,” he said.

Dr Damak, pointed to a number of challenges facing the Islamic banking sector, including the need to develop its standards, align its business with the requirements of society and governance, and introduce the latest financial technologies into the issuance of sukuk and takaful.

GBF ASEAN forms part of Dubai Chamber’s flagship Global Business Forum series, which was launched in 2013 to provide Dubai’s business community with new opportunities and strengthen the emirate’s position as a global business hub, a dynamic centre of commerce, and a gateway to lucrative new markets.

Categories
Dubai EXPO 2020 UAE News

Hamdan tours Singapore, Slovakia and Estonia Pavilion at Expo 2020

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, today toured the pavilions of Singapore, Mongolia, Slovakia and Estonia at Expo 2020 Dubai…reports Asian Lite News

Speaking during the tour, the Crown Prince said, “Expo 2020 Dubai brings together nations from all corners of the world in a unique celebration of culture, creativity and innovation. The event boosts Dubai’s role as a facilitator of dialogue and engagement between nations across the globe to build constructive cooperation.”

Hamdan tours Singapore, Slovakia and Estonia Pavilion at Expo 2020

Sheikh Hamdan further said that in the coming years, Dubai will continue to play a key role in catalysing global collaboration to expand the horizons of growth, development and prosperity and shape a brighter future for the world.

ALSO READ: Hamdan opens GITEX GLOBAL x Ai Everything

He visited the lushly-landscaped, net-zero energy pavilion of Singapore located in the Sustainability District, which showcases how the nation has overcome geographic limitations to become a green, livable and resilient city. For Expo 2020, the island nation has brought a slice of real Singaporean greenery to Dubai, creating a fully explorable rainforest experience. Echoing Singapore’s vision of a City in Nature, the open-air pavilion unfolds across 1,500 square metres of soft tropical plant life, centred upon three striking, themed garden cones and capped by a solar canopy and hanging garden.

Hamdan tours Singapore, Slovakia and Estonia Pavilion at Expo 2020

He also visited the pavilion of the Slovak Republic located in the Mobility District, which highlights the country’s advances in the aviation and space industries with a particular emphasis on the unique hydrogen technologies being developed there. Among the special exhibits, the pavilion features a hydrogen-powered passenger car, utilising technology intended to revolutionise the passenger, freight and public transport sectors. According to the pavilion’s creators, Slovakia’s goal is to fundamentally shift hydrogen mobility and increase the safety of this form of transport. The central European nation is also hosting displays on aviation and space technologies.

In the Mobility District, the Crown Prince also visited the pavilion of Estonia, where the country is presenting its e-services and e-governance. By embracing everything from cashless payments to blockchain, the country is a trailblazer in the new economy. The Estonia pavilion presents the e-solutions the country has embraced and showcases the country as a lab where new ideas can be tried and start-ups can be launched.

Hamdan tours Singapore, Slovakia and Estonia Pavilion at Expo 2020

Another of His Highness’s stops today in the Mobility District of Expo 2020 was the Mongolian pavilion, which highlights the nation’s culture and heritage centred around the millennia-old nomadic lifestyle of its people. Visitors to the pavilion can explore the country’s wildlife, including the central role horses play in the country’s culture. They can also experience traditional throat singing and ancient games such as Shagai. Visitors also have an opportunity to learn about the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor, as well as the country’s huge infrastructure investments that are set to usher in a new era of development.