Mr Cao Jianlin, Vice Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology, China;
Her Excellency Ambassador Zhang Xiaokang;
Dr Tan Chin Nam, Chairman, Media Development Authority;
Mr Chen Kehong, Vice Chairman, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality;

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Vice-Minister Cao Jianlin and his delegation to the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between Singapore and the People’s Republic of China.

2 Singapore enjoys warm and friendly relations with China. Our bilateral ties are underpinned by broad-based collaborations and exchanges in many areas. This MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Interactive Digital Media Technology Research and Development marks an extension of these good ties.

3 The Interactive Digital Media (or IDM) sector is evolving rapidly and offers tremendous opportunities for both Singapore and China. In Singapore, we have allocated $500 million over a five-year period, starting from 2006, to fund the development of a strategic IDM research programme. The Singapore Government is committed to developing the IDM sector and to create a niche for Singapore to excel in. In 2007, the IDM R&D Programme Office funded 94 projects, which were undertaken at the individual, industry, school and research institution levels. Collectively, these projects are expected to deliver some 100 new innovative patents and products.

4 Singapore companies are also forging collaborations with China. For example, Singapore ’s Ufinity Pte Ltd and China’s Qianfan Interactive Media ( 千帆科技 ) have set up a joint venture, Ufinity Interactive Media, to develop a next-generation interactive online service to predict users' interests and serve up relevant and timely information. The MDA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will also set up the China-Singapore Institute of Digital Media in Singapore. The Institute will conduct areas of immersive learning of the Chinese language and technologies which can be deployed on media content development. This is the first overseas research initiative by the CAS and it is expected to be operational in the next two months .

5 The MOU that we are signing today is therefore timely and most welcomed. It will spur further collaborations between our countries and agencies. I am pleased to note that we already have a project collaboration lined up under the MOU between the Media Development Authority (MDA) and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM) . The project is to develop cross-border online digital media test-beds. Both agencies will shortly sign a separate MOU for this project collaboration.

6 In closing, I am confident that these MOUs will take our close bilateral relations another step forward. I look forward to a fruitful partnership that will not only strengthen existing relations but also open up new areas for cooperation and mutual benefits to Singapore and China.

Thank you.