Abu Dhabi, 3rd Nov. 2009 (WAM) -- Government and business representatives from Abu Dhabi and Singapore gathered in Abu Dhabi today for the fourth Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum. Established in 2007, the forum is co-chaired by H.E. Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority and Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Singapores Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Manpower.
Shyan was accompanied by a 16-strong delegation from Singapore comprising representatives of companies from a spectrum of industries ranging from environmental services, infrastructure development as well as financial and legal services. From the Abu Dhabi side, a high-level delegation of 13 senior business and government representatives participated. The objectives of the fourth ADSJF were to:1.Deepen the conversation initiated during the third Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum held in Shanghai in May 2009 on third country collaboration and co-investment opportunities, as well as follow up on existing bilateral cooperation projects. 2.Further develop priority areas of business and potential opportunities for cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Singapore companies in third-countries around the world. 3.Solidify and strengthen relationships between business leaders from Abu Dhabi and Singapore in order to facilitate greater collaboration and identify potential co-investment opportunities in the Middle East and North African region specifically. The forum included updates on existing Singapore-Abu Dhabi collaborations, as well as a presentation by representatives of Abu Dhabi on the Emirates many projects in the Middle East and North Africa region. H.E. Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Co-Chair of the ADSJF said: "The Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum continues to provide an ideal platform for the ongoing strengthening of business and government ties between Abu Dhabi and Singapore. By sharing our respective expertise in the MENA and Asian regions, organisations from Abu Dhabi and Singapore will be in a much stronger position to take advantage of new collaborative opportunities in a number of countries around the world." Lee Yi Shyan, Co-Chair of the ADSJF, said: "The Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum has brought our businessmen together and promoted major investment projects between Abu Dhabi and Singapore, as well as cooperation on non-economic issues. It is now evolving into a resource and knowledge sharing platform for both Abu Dhabi and Singapore companies to form synergies in venturing forth to a third country, and we hope that this initiative will bear fruit soon."At todays forum, two significant bilateral developments were announced. The first is a government - private sector collaboration on environmental conservation in Abu Dhabi worth US$425,000, in which Pico World (Singapore) Pte Ltd and CPG Consultants Pte Ltd, supported by PUB Consultants Pte Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of PUB, Singapores national water agency) will provide design consultancy services for the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) in the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve Centre of Abu Dhabi. The second is the Singapore Economic Development Board's (EDB) new Middle East website. Through the website launched officially by MOS Lee today, Singapore hopes to better reach out to the Middle East market, including companies, businessmen, investors and institutions, with the introduction of this new communication channel. The new Middle East website is the second for EDB after its Japanese website was launched in June. EDB's English corporate website and the Chinese website were also revamped earlier this year. EDB's Middle East website can be accessed at www.sedb.com/me. The forum also provided an opportunity for business and government representatives to discuss recent developments in the Abu Dhabi-Singapore relationship. Most notably, the announcement by Abu Dhabis Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) in September 2009 of its intended acquisition of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2009.
