S’pore ‘is not without agency’, has built capabilities and is stronger: PM Wong on global landscape

Singapore has built deep capabilities, financial reserves, and is stronger and more resilient, said PM Lawrence Wong. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

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UPDATED Apr 16, 2025, 04:54 PM

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SINGAPORE - Despite its limitations as a small state whose prosperity has depended on a global order that is now fraying, Singapore cannot afford to be a passive bystander in an evolving landscape and must actively shape its own destiny, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

“Singapore today is not without agency,” he said, of how the Republic is not the same country it was when it first became independent 60 years ago. “We are better resourced, more capable, more connected than we were in 1965.”

While it is once again in uncharted waters and still has no natural resources, the city state has built deep capabilities, financial reserves, and is stronger and more resilient, said PM Wong.

Singapore will therefore respond to the global transition that is under way with agility and resolve, and will actively shape its own destiny, he said in a speech that detailed the steps his Government will take to navigate an increasingly fragmented world.