Speech by Minister of State for Energy, Trade and Industry Foo Cexiang at the Mongolia-Singapore Business Forum

Your Excellency Minister Sandag-Ochir, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Mongolia

Your Excellency Uyanga Ganbold, Ambassador of Mongolia to Singapore

Mr Wong Kai Jiun, Ambassador of Singapore to Mongolia

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A very good morning.

1. It is my pleasure to join you today at the Mongolia-Singapore Business Forum. To all our guests from Mongolia, a very warm welcome to Singapore. Minister and I were just discussing that it is soon entering winter in Mongolia. So I believe this warm welcome is not just from our hearts but also from the temperature.

2. I must first thank the Embassy of Mongolia in Singapore for organising this forum, together with our Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI). You have brought our business communities together, and as Minister Sandag-Ochir mentioned, this is going to be the start of concrete projects.

3. Singapore and Mongolia established diplomatic relations 56 years ago.

4. Over the years, our relationship has been built on friendship, mutual respect and a shared willingness to work together despite the geographical distance between our countries.

5. One story captures this spirit particularly well.

6. In 2016, then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong became the first Singapore Prime Minister to make an Official Visit to Mongolia. During the visit, then-President Tsakhia Elbegdorj presented him with a Mongolian horse. Prime Minister Lee later named it Bintang Temasek. “Bintang” means star in Malay, and “Temasek” is the ancient name for Singapore. His hope was that Bintang Temasek would shine brightly across the Mongolian plains.

7. Bintang Temasek remains a symbol of the friendship between Singapore and Mongolia. But friendship, while certainly very important, is not enough.

8. The question before all of us today is how do we translate a strong bilateral relationship into stronger business partnerships, investments and projects that will be able to bring prosperity and career outcomes for people of both countries.

9. I would like to suggest three simple ingredients that will kick off today’s Forum: confidence, connections and conviction.

Building Confidence to Invest

10. First, confidence. Businesses invest when they have confidence in the future. They need confidence that the rules are clear, contracts will be honoured, and the operating environment will remain stable enough for long-term decision-making. This is especially important in sectors of the world today that are gaining prominence – clean energy, digital infrastructure, carbon markets. These sectors are sectors in which investments are often made over many years. And yesterday in Parliament we just had a good discussion on new digital infrastructure. These are long-term investments, capital-intensive, and businesses need confidence that their investments will play out.

11. I’m very glad to share with everyone that Mongolia has taken important steps this year to strengthen that confidence in our Singapore businesses.

12. In July, Mongolia adopted its Law on Economic Freedom alongside reforms to its investment framework. These reforms have strengthened investor protection, improved dispute-resolution mechanisms, streamlined regulatory requirements and expanded market access for foreign investors, including in sectors such as renewable energy, data centres and artificial intelligence. These are important steps towards creating greater business certainty and a more conducive environment for businesses to invest and grow.

13. Mongolia also adopted its first Climate Change Law in July this year. The law establishes the domestic legal framework for climate action, including carbon markets and climate finance. This provides an important foundation for Singapore and Mongolia to operationalise our Implementation Agreement on carbon credits cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

14. The Agreement creates a framework for our countries to collaborate on high-quality mitigation projects that contribute to our climate goals while supporting sustainable development.

15. As Minister Sandag-Ochir has just announced, Singapore and Mongolia will begin accepting applications for carbon credit projects under our Implementation Agreement from 30 October 2026.

16. I would like to thank Minister and officials from both sides for their hard work in bringing us to this milestone. This milestone means that we now move from

framework to implementation, from concept to concrete projects, and from friendly relationships to commercial agreements.

17. I encourage businesses interested in carbon market opportunities to study the scheme and put forth project proposals when applications open.

18. This is an example of the role that governments play. We cannot decide which projects businesses should pursue. But we can seek to provide certainty, rules and frameworks that give our businesses assurance that the projects that they design and develop will be able to come to commercial fruition.

19. Yet, for businesses, confidence alone is not enough. Opportunities rarely succeed just because of regulations. They succeed because the right people find the right partners. Which brings me to my second point: connections.

Building Connections between Businesses

20. Before I entered politics, I spent a good part of my career working on how Singapore can strengthen our role as a supply chain and connectivity hub. We often think about connectivity in terms of ports, airports, roads and infrastructure. But business connectivity is equally important.

21. A market opportunity can only become a real project when businesses find trusted partners who understand local conditions and can work together to create value. For our companies entering a new market, finding the right partner can make all the difference. You need partners who understand the regulatory environment, know the realities on the ground, and can help turn your idea into a commercially viable project.

22. This is where our business chambers play such an important role. I am delighted that SBF and MNCCI will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding today to strengthen their partnership. And I hope that this MOU signing between our federations will be able to catalyse and energise all the businesses that they represent to come forth and look for like-minded partners.

23. The value of this partnership certainly cannot stop at organising forums like the one we are doing today. It must create partnerships and investments and unlock opportunities for businesses in both countries.

24. I have every confidence that SBF and MNCCI understand the respective markets in Singapore and Mongolia, they know the companies on both sides, and they can help businesses identify opportunities, find partners and navigate unfamiliar environments.

25. In fact, we have already seen what such connections can lead to. In June this year, SBF led a business mission to Mongolia involving Singapore companies

across sectors such as food and beverage, professional services, education and energy. The mission generated promising business leads which participating companies are now actively pursuing.

26. And I hope today’s Forum will provide another opportunity for more of such collaborations.

Turning Opportunities into Partnerships

27. Finally, my last “C”: conviction. Governments can build confidence. Business chambers can help to build connections. But neither governments nor chambers will be able to invest capital. Neither will be able to develop the projects commercially. And neither will be able to sign commercial agreements. That is what businesses will need to do.

28. Ultimately, turning opportunity into reality requires conviction. I believe that Singapore and Mongolia are at a critical moment today where our business will be able to have this conviction.

29. Our countries have meaningful complementarities. Mongolia has significant natural resources, abundant land and strong renewable energy potential. I was having a short discussion with Minister before entering the platform and he was sharing how renewable energy is a primary focus of his government. Singapore, on the other hand, brings strengths in finance, professional services, technology and project development, as well as access to global and regional markets.

30. Carbon markets represent one promising area where these strengths come together. Mongolia has strong potential for high-quality mitigation projects, including renewable energy and nature-based solutions. Singapore has a growing ecosystem of companies that can help develop, finance and commercialise such projects, supported by demand for high-quality carbon credits.

31. We are already beginning to see such partnerships emerge. For example, I have been made aware of a consortium comprising Singapore and Mongolian companies that is exploring nature-based carbon projects in Mongolia. The Singapore partners contribute project development and technical expertise, while their Mongolian partners bring local knowledge, networks and on-the-ground capabilities.

32. This is precisely the type of partnerships we hope to see more of. I encourage businesses from both countries to bring their different strengths to the table and create value together.

Conclusion

33. Ladies and gentlemen, I began with the story of Bintang Temasek. Ten years ago, it symbolised the friendship between Singapore and Mongolia. Today, our challenge is to translate that friendship into tangible investments, projects and long-term partnerships that create value for both our countries.

34. This is how Bintang Temasek will be riding across the plains of Mongolia – through collaborations between our companies and actual projects.

35. Our governments will continue to build confidence. And I hope our business communities continue to strengthen connections and have the conviction to seize opportunities when they arise.

36. If we bring all these three together, we can have every confidence that the next chapter of Singapore-Mongolia relations will not be simply defined by goodwill, but by meaningful economic partnerships and shared growth.

37. With that, I thank everyone for coming to today’s Forum, and I wish you a fruitful conversation at an important business forum. Thank you very much.