National Statement at the World Intellectual Property Organization 63rd Series of Meetings of the Assemblies

Thank you, Mdm Chair.

Mdm Chair

Director General

Distinguished colleagues

Ladies and gentlemen

1 The Singapore Delegation is pleased to participate in this 63^rd Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of WIPO Member States and we align ourselves with the statements made by the Asia and Pacific Group and ASEAN. We congratulate WIPO Director General Daren Tang and the WIPO Secretariat for the excellent year they have had, as outlined in the DG’s report, as well as thank them for the excellent arrangements made for these meetings.

2 Colleagues, we are meeting at a time when the world faces complex social, environmental, and economic challenges. WIPO offers Members States a valuable multilateral platform where we can work closely together, strengthen trust, and enhance partnerships to overcome these challenges. In particular, we appreciate WIPO’s work in our region, through the WIPO Singapore Office and the Division for Asia and the Pacific. Our excellent cooperation has resulted in targeted activities that meet the needs of the region, such as capacity building, digitalisation, data management and enhanced efficiencies of national offices.

3 Singapore is committed to continuing our close collaboration with WIPO and Member States to deliver tangible outcomes. We have participated actively in the work of WIPO in a variety of areas, including economics and analytics, IP Financing and IP Dispute Resolution, to name a few. These are all part of our efforts to contribute to the enhancement of the global IP ecosystem based on mutual trust and understanding.

4 Today, innovation and technological advancements are changing the way we live and do business. It is important for IP Offices to play an active role in helping businesses, particularly SMEs, as well as youth and women innovators to protect, manage and transact their IP and intangible assets for growth.

5 In this respect, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) supports the growth of innovative businesses through IP and IA, as guided by the Singapore IP Strategy 2030. We have passed the IP (Amendment) Bill and launched a new e-service platform, IPOS Digital Hub, this year, to improve business-friendliness and operational efficiency. In recognition of the increasing importance of the digital economy, we have embarked on policy reviews in areas such as trade secrets, as well as frontier technologies including AI and Blockchain. We continue to explore initiatives to support businesses in their use of IP and IA.

6 Mdm Chair, in closing, Singapore congratulates you on your able leadership and assures you of our support and commitment to contribute constructively to the Assemblies and our multilateral work to enhance the IP ecosystem.

Thank you.