National Statement for the 68th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO

Honourable Chair,

Director General, 

Excellencies, 

Distinguished Colleagues, 

1          Singapore extends its appreciation to you, Chair, Director General Daren Tang and the WIPO Secretariat for the excellent organisation of these Assemblies.

2          Singapore is aligned with the statements delivered by APG and ASEAN.

3          First, we warmly congratulate DG Tang on his reappointment. The outcome of the election held in February reflects the confidence that Member States have placed in his vision, commitment, and leadership. Singapore reaffirms our strong support for WIPO and DG Tang’s continued leadership. We urge all Member States to continue extending their fullest support to DG Tang, his Senior Management Team and the entire WIPO Secretariat to ensure that IP delivers tangible benefits and meaningful impact for everyone, everywhere.

4          Second, Singapore is firmly committed to strengthen multilateralism and WIPO’s central role in developing a future-ready global IP eco-system. Against the backdrop of rapid technological changes and global uncertainty in the world today, we recognise that WIPO’s role to advance a balanced, effective and impact-oriented global IP ecosystem is now more important than ever. Our national experience as a small country with an open economy has taught us that innovation thrives when countries cooperate and collaborate pragmatically to seek mutually beneficial outcomes. Therefore, we support WIPO’s efforts to build bridges across regions, perspectives and stages of development. Some of that work for Southeast Asia is carried out by the WIPO Singapore Office and WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Singapore and we are proud to be a partner with WIPO on that front.

5          Third, Singapore shares DG Tang’s vision of leveraging IP as a catalyst for economic prosperity. Under the Singapore IP Strategy 2030, we are committed to helping innovators, creatives and enterprises transform ideas into assets, and assets into growth. We are advancing this through initiatives such as the creation of a framework for intangibles disclosure and the ongoing development of a set of guidelines for intangible asset valuation. These efforts help businesses better identify, value and leverage their intangible assets, and we are confident that these efforts can also benefit the global IP community, through facilitating cross-border understanding and transaction of intangibles.

6          In closing, Singapore reiterates our commitment to working with WIPO and fellow Member States to build a future-ready IP ecosystem that creates tangible value for businesses, economies, and communities.

Thank you.