SM Teo Chee Hean at the Inaugural International Organisation for Marine Aids to Navigation (IALA) General Assembly

President, Secretary-General, and esteemed friends from IALA,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. I am glad to join you at IALA’s very first General Assembly. To our overseas friends, a warm welcome to Singapore.

Singapore as a Maritime Nation

Singapore’s history, people, and economy are deeply intertwined with the sea. As early as the 13th century, we were already a thriving port that served the Archipelago around us and beyond. Arab, Bugis, Chinese, Malay and Siamese sailors and ships were actively trading in our region even before the arrival of European merchants.

Today, Singapore is the world’s largest container transshipment hub. Last year, our port handled over 41 million TEUs of container throughput. We bunker over a fifth of the world’s marine fuels, and are home to a vibrant cluster of maritime companies and institutions.

Contributions to a Rules-Based Global Maritime Order

Singapore is committed to upholding maritime safety and the rights of all nations to fully use the seas in accordance with international law. This is existential for us.

We place great importance on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and played a role in its establishment. A Singaporean – Ambassador Tommy Koh – presided over the final two years of negotiations at the UN. UNCLOS 1982 arrived at a very important international consensus that is critical in preserving the maritime rights of the global community, while specifying the jurisdiction of coastal states.

More recently, we were involved in another important chapter: the establishment of the new Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions Agreement under UNCLOS, more conveniently called the BBNJ. This agreement supports the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the high seas. Singapore’s Ambassador Rena Lee chaired the negotiations, which concluded in 2023, some forty years after UNCLOS was concluded in 1982, reaffirming that multilateralism in the maritime domain is both necessary and also possible.

Singapore is also pleased to be an active member in the International Maritime Organization, the International Hydrographic Organization and the International Mobile Satellite Organization. And we are helping to align maritime nations in reducing emissions from ships by promoting the early adoption of alternative marine fuels and developing Green and Digital Shipping Corridors.

IALA’s Transition to an IGO

It is in this context that Singapore recognises the critical contribution that IALA makes to the maritime global order. IALA ensures that vessel navigation remains safe, expeditious, cost-effective, and sustainable. We are therefore pleased to witness IALA’s elevation from a non-governmental organisation to an Intergovernmental Organisation (IGO), and to have been the first State to ratify the IALA Convention four years ago.

And I am glad that Member States will adopt the Declaration of the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation, or the “Singapore Declaration”, later today. This reflects our collective commitment to international cooperation, and is particularly welcome at a time when we all need to demonstrate that multilateralism brings important benefits to the global community to all of us, which is shared by all of us in common.

Singapore’s Support for IALA

IALA’s transition to an Intergovernmental Organisation is one part of its broader effort to ensure that systems and standards for marine navigation remain up to date and ready to meet the needs of the global maritime community. IALA’s past work in developing common standards for navigation systems, such as the Automatic Identification System or AIS, has been crucial for their universal adoption in modern shipping. These efforts will continue to be important as emerging technologies in areas such as cellular and space-based communications present us with new opportunities and challenges.

Singapore will continue to work with other countries and share experiences in these emerging fields. We will support IALA’s various committees and groups in their development of relevant standards, recommendations, and guidelines.

With the rapid pace of technological change, IALA will also play an increasingly critical role in preparing Member States for these developments. The IALA Worldwide Academy has helped to enhance the capabilities of Member States through training and support in the adoption of international standards and guidelines.

And Singapore will continue to do our part to co-develop new curricula for the IALA Worldwide Academy. As part of our third-country training programmes, we have committed S$2 million until 2027 to support capacity building of Member States, under the Memorandum of Understanding between our Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and IALA.

Conclusion

Through these collaborations among Member States, industry, and the research community, I am confident that IALA will continue to live up to its motto of “successful voyages” and a “sustainable planet”.

I wish everyone here and IALA a successful first General Assembly and hope that you will enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavours of Singapore as well. Thank you very much.