OPENING SPEECH BY MINISTER FOR HEALTH MR ONG YE KUNG AT THE SINGAPORE-SWEDEN HEALTHCARE SYMPOSIUM

Ms Anna Hamilton, First Lady of the Court, thank you for delivering the speech on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. I am sure she is recovering well. 

Ms. Miriam Söderström, State Secretary for Healthcare of Sweden 

Ms Lai Wei Lin, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health Singapore 

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen 

1.             A very good afternoon. I am very happy to join you today at the Singapore-Sweden Healthcare Symposium. 

2.             This year, we are marking 58 years of partnership between Singapore and Sweden. For both countries, we are small in terms of population, but maybe not so much by land size. I think we are relatively small compared to our neighbours. We are doing our best to overcome our geographical and demographic challenges to engage and reach out to the world. We are therefore very encouraged, based on these common grounds, that we have built strong and enduring bonds founded on mutual trust and respect. 

3.             It is however a partnership that needs constant tending, refreshing and updating to adapt to a changing environment. Today’s theme, "Driving Progress: Empowering Innovation in Healthcare" is a good example. 

4.             Healthcare needs are changing and becoming more complex. One major driver, which Ms. Miriam Söderström mentioned, is our ageing population, which forces health systems around the world to place greater emphasis on preventive care and social care. Incidentally, in Singapore and Sweden, about 20% or one-fifth of our population is aged 65 and over. The only difference is Sweden has an enviable Total Fertility Rate of about 1.7; we are struggling to pass one. 

5.             Another major driver is medical advancement, such as in genomics and precision medicine. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) further promises major breakthroughs in healthcare. This has presented us with an unprecedented opportunity to transform healthcare for the better. Ms Miriam Söderström also mentioned climate change. There has been a big discussion about climate change and healthcare. I attended many conferences where this is a major topic. Previously, I wondered what the link was. And then I realised that in the equator, we do not feel the impact as much. But in temperate countries, there is a sharp rise in tropical diseases. In fact, I was just in Saudi Arabia, and they have about 10 to 20 times increase in the number of dengue cases. But in Singapore, and the countries around the region, we have a long experience in tackling and struggling with such tropical diseases, and we are more than happy to share our experiences and knowledge with other countries. 

6.             Singapore is therefore taking active steps to bring about changes to our healthcare system. Post-COVID-19, we are expanding our healthcare capacity, not just in terms of hospital beds, but also stepped-down care, community care, palliative care, and a ground-up social support system. This is especially important for diseases such as dementia that require much more social, community and family care – much more than hospital care. 

7.             We launched Healthier SG, our long-term preventive health strategy last year. It shifts the centre of gravity of care away from the hospital and towards the community, towards primary care, and towards family medicine. We are encouraging health screening and vaccinations, and incentivising healthier diets and more physical exercise. I think Singapore is one of the few places where you exercise and the government gives you shopping vouchers. Maybe one day, we will invite the Swedish to join us. All these empower Singaporeans to take better care of our own health. 

8.             We continue to invest in research and innovation, especially in precision medicine, genomics and pandemic preparedness. Cell, tissue and gene therapy can potentially treat hitherto incurable diseases, and we are taking steps to include some of these treatments that are clinically- and cost-effective into mainstream healthcare with mainstream financial support. 

9.             As a further example, non-communicable diseases, especially diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia, are on the rise. With judicious use of medical, socio-economic, and genetic data, plus AI, we can develop meaningful applications in predictive preventive care to better manage chronic diseases. 

10.          This is an ambitious and significant healthcare agenda, which we developed by observing and learning from best practices around the world. International partnerships and networks are therefore key to our healthcare transformation efforts. In particular, our partnership with Sweden in healthcare has always been characterised by a common desire to embrace technology, seek innovation, and improve our knowhow. This is a common DNA in our countries. 

11.          Our collaboration extends into clinics and laboratories. One example is the promising stem cell research jointly conducted by the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Eye Research Institute, and Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which aims to restore vision in blindness caused by macular degeneration. The patent has been licensed to Swedish biotech start-up, Alder Therapeutics. 

12.          Our hospitals and universities have a longstanding collaboration with the Karolinska Institute, which has yielded promising results. A notable achievement is the collaboration in cancer research, which has enabled advanced genomic sequencing of tumour samples, leading to the identification of potential therapeutic targets. 

13.          On the business front, AstraZeneca recently invested US$1.5 billion in a new facility in Singapore to manufacture next-generation cancer therapeutics. The venture marks a milestone as AstraZeneca’s first global end-to-end production site for antibody drug conjugates. It will create over 800 highly skilled jobs and contribute significantly to realising better health outcomes through precision medicine. 

14.          We thank AstraZeneca and Swedish enterprises for your confidence in Singapore as a trusted and competitive location for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. We look forward to the site becoming operationally ready by 2029. 

15.          On a broader front, platforms such as the Nordic Innovation House in Singapore, and Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance Stockholm initiative, promote entrepreneurship and encourage enterprise collaborations. In addition, Singapore and Sweden are also part of the inter-governmental Eureka Network that supports enterprises to collaborate on co-innovation and joint tech development projects, including those addressing human health challenges. 

16.          Today’s signing of the Memorandum of Understanding marks a further milestone in celebrating achievements of the past and a promise of a future of further collaborations and partnerships. 

17.          I want to express my deep appreciation for the enduring bilateral relationship between Singapore and Sweden. I encourage everyone to continue to engage openly, build connections, and explore fresh avenues of cooperation. Our partnership is a very concrete and substantial demonstration of close international partnerships, based on mutual trust, respect, open minds, and big hearts. Thank you very much.