SINGAPORE – Singapore has proven over generations that it is not size that determines success but strategic clarity, and this is true too of technology, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on July 12.

“Singapore has shown what’s possible when digital innovation is matched with long-term thinking and national purpose,” said Mr Lammy, speaking at the Fullerton Hotel on “Diplomacy in the Digital Age”.

Mr Lammy, who was on a one-day official visit to the Republic, highlighted how Singapore set up a National Computerisation Committee as early as 1981. He also cited the launch of the whole-of-government Smart Nation initiative in 2014, followed by the launch of a National AI Strategy in 2019.

“Each time, your leaders were ahead of the game. Each time there was a broader lesson,” said Mr Lammy, noting that Singapore did not get ahead by just throwing money at the private sector and hoping for the best.

Instead, serious public capabilities were built through deep technical expertise within the government and investment in areas like compute and data infrastructure, such as Singpass, he added.

“Starting in this job, I said that Britain needed to do more listening and less lecturing.  A huge part of my trip this week has been to listen and, I hope, learn lessons on how we can pursue a similarly long-term strategy embracing technology,” said Mr Lammy.

The British Foreign Secretary said any vision for the world of tomorrow must include a specific focus on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and diplomacy.  

He acknowledged this was not yet a staple of foreign ministry and foreign ministers’ discussions in his experience.  

“But I believe that unless we lift our heads above the rat-race of crises and summits and examine the longer term trends reshaping our world, we will be boiled like the proverbial frog,” he asserted.

Mr Lammy posited that AI was not just the next...