Secure Trade in the APEC Region Conference draws to a close
Singapore, 31 July 2009 - Singapore has hosted the Seventh Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR VII) Conference (held 30 - 31 July, 2009 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel). Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education Mr S. Iswaran, the Guest-of-Honour at STAR VII delivered the keynote address.
This year's theme, "Enhancing Trade Security and Economic Resilience", focused on the need for businesses and industries to develop a security culture within their business model. Businesses were encouraged to not only look upon security as an important business process but to also see security as a competitive advantage.
More than 20 speakers from international organisations such as the World Customs Organisation, academia, government agencies and the private sector were invited to speak at the Conference. The event is drew more than 250 private sector representatives and government officials.
At the Conference, both the public and private sectors, especially those from the logistics and supply chain industries, discussed ways to enhance and tighten security processes and to strengthen the supply chain system against the threat of terrorism. Conference participants were encouraged to exchange views on how stakeholders in the international supply chain can cooperate to minimise the possibility of terrorist attacks on the supply chain and to ensure that international trade flows recover quickly should such an attack occur.
The Conference also aimed to help regulatory authorities and industry players build capacities and resilience to reduce and minimise the impact of a terrorist attack. The recovery process is critical for trade flows to quickly resume in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Conference participants discussed measures that inpidual stakeholders in the supply chain can adopt to secure the supply chain while facilitating trade.
The programme included an industry visit to PSA Singapore's Keppel DistriPark to view security measures at the FPS Global Logistics warehouse. This visit provided conference participants with a real life view of the security measures that were discussed during the conference.
Issued by the Ministry of Transport, Singapore