More Collaboration with S'pore sought |
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
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| Networking: Dato Paduka Hj Mustappa Hj Sirat, permanent secretary at the Prime Minister's Office touring one of the aerospace exhibits at the Singapore Airshow. Picture: Courtesy of RBTS |
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THE Royal Brunei Technical Services (RBTS) is currently partaking in the Singapore Airshow officially opened by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday, to be held between February 19 – 24.
Attending the airshow was Dato Paduka Hj Mustappa, permanent secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office who is in Singapore to discuss present and future areas for bilateral collaboration through respective government ministries and private industries.
In a speech by Prime Minister Lee yesterday, he highlighted that this year’s show is housed in new and dedicated facilities making it the biggest airshow as well as the largest in the world, alongside Farnborough and Paris.
Its success mirrors Singapore’s success as a global aviation hub and indeed has reinforced it, he added.
The airshow brings together members of the aerospace community, including government officials, industry leaders and decision makers form the commercial and defence sectors, to make contacts, exchange ideas and broker deals.
The prime minister added that aviation plays an integral and indispensable role in the global economy where more than two billion passengers take to the skies each year with 40 billion tonnes of freight flown annually.
He pointed out that though the dwindling US economy might cause the aerospace industry a challenging year ahead, encouraging signs can be seen in Asia.
“The region is expected to lead growth in air travel, as the industry’s centre of gravity shifts to the East, with China and India integrating more closely into global grid, demand for air travel in the region will soar,“ he said.
In the Southeast Asian region, air travel is also expected to take off starting with the first milestone of free access between Asean capitals by the end of 2008, according to the prime minister. As regional governments look to modernise their defence forces, opportunities in Asia’s defence market will also widen.
Singapore’s aerospace industry has soared at an unprecedented pace where 2007 brought Singapore an output growth by more than 10 percent to a new high of $6.9 billion.
There are more than 100 aerospace companies in Singapore engaging in a wide range of activities across the whole value chain. To sustain the growth of the aerospace industry, Singapore will be developing a new 300 hectare Aerospace Park for companies to expand and exploit their strengths.
Source: The Brunei Times
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