On 12 April 2023, a business forum presenting Czech companies was held at Singapore's Conrad Centennial Hotel, which attracted a lot of attention from their potential Singaporean partners. The event was opened by Mr. Martin Kupka, Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic, and his Singaporean counterpart Mr. Chee Hong Tat, who in their speeches* emphasized the importance of the event for the launch of bilateral cooperation. This is an important milestone for Czech-Singaporean relations after the reopening of the Czech Embassy, but also at a time when supply chains and transport in general are being rebuilt after the recent pandemic restrictions.

Specifically, Minister Kupka said, "We see great potential for business cooperation in the areas of transport, logistics, financial services, advanced technologies or the use of space data and research activities. Singapore can be a gateway for our businesses to enter the Southeast Asian market."

The forum welcomed more than 200 participants. Among them were 50 Czech companies, which had the opportunity to showcase their best products and services, and more than 150 Singaporean companies from the aforementioned fields. The Czech companies presented themselves mainly in the B2B part of the programme, where they showed how they are innovative and able to meet the needs of the Singapore market. The discussion panel focused on topics such as digital industries, sustainability and innovation and offered many interesting ideas. During the panel, representatives of companies from both countries agreed that collaboration in the above areas can lead to many benefits for both markets.

Overall, the business forum helped to create new business relationships and strengthen existing ones. The event, financed by the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic from the Fund for Economic Diplomacy and co-organised by the Czech Embassy in Singapore and the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic with the help of the Czech-Singapore Chamber of Commerce, thus became an important milestone in the development of business relations between the two countries.

*Minister Kupka's speech can be found in the attachment, Senior Minister of State Chee's speech is on the website of the Ministry of Transport.