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Ministry of Trade and Industry
2. Speeches

Speech by Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu at the Standards & Conformance (S&C) 2026 Summit

12 June 2026

President of ISO, Dr Khaled Soufi

President of IEC, Mr James Matthews

Chairman, Global ACI, Mr Brahim Houla

Distinguished Heads of Mission,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

  1. Good morning. This year marks 60 years of Standards and 40 years of Accreditation in Singapore. Over the decades, Singapore’s standards and accreditation ecosystem has shaped how we do business with the world, working with public, private, local, and international partners to build the standards and accreditation frameworks that businesses and consumers, here and abroad, rely on every day.

  2. That work is, at its core, about building trust – trust that Singapore’s products are safe, our services reliable, and our companies credible wherever they operate. That reputation does not just open doors abroad; it is a mark of quality that Singapore has earned, and that our companies compete on every day.

  3. But this foundation cannot stand still. The world is changing, and the demands placed on our Standards and Conformance (S&C) ecosystem are changing with it. If our S&C infrastructure is to remain trusted and relevant, it must keep pace.

  4. At last night’s Gala Dinner, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong unveiled Singapore’s S&C 2035 roadmap, charting how we will strengthen our role in the global standards and conformance landscape over the next decade. It sets out three pillars that leverage S&C to:

    1. Drive economic growth, to ensure local businesses can innovate to scale

    2. Build a future-ready ecosystem, to support innovation, talent development and regulation, and;

    3. Strengthen Singapore’s role as a trusted partner in regional and global S&C ecosystems, to facilitate trade and market access

  5. I am excited to share how we will bring S&C 2035 to life, alongside our trusted partners – starting with driving economic growth.

Enabling industry-wide standards adoption to drive economic growth

  1. Standards are one of the most direct levers a business has for entering new markets. When a company meets recognised standards, it arrives with its credibility already established. For companies looking to expand globally, this is often the difference between winning a contract and losing one. We are making this advantage accessible to all companies, regardless of size or business stage:

    1. First, we will work with industry partners in key and emerging sectors including AI, clean energy, and offshore wind, to encourage businesses to leverage standards and accredited Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) services for growth and market access. Companies that do so gain a competitive edge. They will be ahead of the regulatory curve, not playing catch up when the rules change.

    2. Second, we will work with incubators, accelerators and venture capitalists to recognise S&C credentials as a competitive advantage for startups and early-stage companies. This encourages S&C to be built into innovations from day one, rather than being retrofitted after product development.

    3. Third, we will partner with anchor companies, or “Queen Bees”, to encourage wider adoption of S&C across their supply chains, especially among our small and medium enterprises. Rolls-Royce, which operates a manufacturing facility here in Singapore, is one such Queen Bee. By requiring its suppliers to meet Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC)-accredited standards for calibration and testing, Rolls-Royce raises the bar for every company it works with, opening doors for them well beyond its own supply chain. We encourage more companies to lead in the same way.

Building a future-ready standards ecosystem to support innovation, talent development, and regulation

  1. For the second pillar in S&C 2035, to build a future-ready ecosystem, standards must be developed ahead of the market, not in response to it. Technologies in green energy and AI are scaling faster than the frameworks that govern them. If we act early, businesses and industries across the region will be among the first to benefit when those standards take effect.

  2. One way to do this is through regulatory sandboxes – spaces where emerging technologies can be rigorously validated and tested against S&C frameworks in real-world conditions before they are formalised. Supported by an agile, digitally-enabled S&C infrastructure that is designed to keep pace with rapid innovation cycles, these are environments where public and private stakeholders can co-develop solutions that inform national policy and global standards conversations.

  3. Building this ecosystem requires collaboration across borders and disciplines – and we are already seeing it take shape. I am pleased to announce that the Singapore Standards Council and ASTM, in collaboration with A*STAR and National Robotics Programme, have published a white paper on embodied AI. The paper discusses key standardisation opportunities, drawing on Singapore’s solutions, use cases, and research capabilities to develop embodied AI technologies that are safe, interoperable and globally relevant. By shaping these standards today, we are positioning our industries and businesses to lead tomorrow.

  4. We need to ensure that effective partnerships and frameworks are supported by a robust network of human capital. To be future-ready, we must build a strong pipeline of professionals with deep technical expertise and knowledge of the governing S&C frameworks. We will drive the growth of local expertise by expanding our pool of technical leaders and Key Opinion Leaders in growth and emerging domains.

  5. Our growing ecosystem of partnerships, frameworks and professionals must be matched by institutional credibility – this is where a strong TIC industry becomes critical. Global TIC players such as DNV, TÜV SÜD, and Bureau Veritas have chosen to anchor their sustainability and decarbonisation work here – reflecting confidence in our regulatory frameworks and standards infrastructure. Our ambition is to strengthen that credibility, so that companies across the region can access global markets with assurance.

  6. Collectively, our efforts to grow Singapore’s S&C partnerships, frameworks, talent and regulation will ensure that we have a future-ready standards ecosystem that can support innovation, today and tomorrow.

Singapore as a trusted, neutral regional quality hub to facilitate trade and market access across Southeast Asia and beyond

  1. Beyond our own ecosystem, we will work with local and international partners to contribute to, support, and shape global S&C developments. This includes expanding harmonisation and mutual recognition to facilitate trade, and deepening ASEAN standards cooperation to ensure relevance and coherence of industry practices, address cross-border technical barriers and enhance global trade facilitation.

  2. In this spirit of collaboration, I am pleased to announce that we will formalise three partnerships at today’s Summit:

    1. First, we are partnering the American National Standards Institute to jointly shape international standards in AI, quantum technologies, biotechnology, and additive manufacturing. We look forward to knowledge exchange, joint contributions to international forums, and capacity-building initiatives.

    2. Second, we have established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Verra, a global non-profit organisation that develops and manages standards for climate and sustainable development. The MOU will support cooperation on accreditation programmes for validation and verification bodies under its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Programme. This allows SAC-accredited validation and verification bodies to play a role in validating greenhouse gas projects and programmes, and in verifying emissions reductions and removal.

    3. Finally, we have signed an MOU with Gold Standard Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that develops standards and methodologies for climate and sustainable development impact. This will support cooperation on accreditation programmes for validation and verification activities relating to projects certified under Gold Standards for Global Goals. SAC-accredited validation and verification bodies will thus be able to contribute to the assessment of emissions reductions and broader sustainable development outcomes aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

  3. Collectively, these partnerships ensure that best practices and cutting-edge knowledge flow across borders, keeping our standards relevant, rigorous, and internationally recognised.

Conclusion

  1. The past 60 years of Standards and 40 years of Accreditation, facilitated by Enterprise Singapore, have built a foundation of trust that benefits not just Singapore but the global S&C community. With S&C 2035, we are building on that foundation – using S&C to drive economic growth, build a future-ready ecosystem, and strengthen Singapore's role as a trusted partner in regional and global S&C networks.

  2. The next decade will bring new challenges and opportunities for S&C. With the right foundations, the right partners, and the right ambition, I am confident that Singapore will rise to meet them.

  3. Thank you.


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