Singapore International Agri-Food Week 2026 Welcome Reception

1. Good evening, and a very warm welcome to the Singapore International Agri-Food Week (SIAW).

2. To our overseas guests, thank you for making the trip to join us. I hope you enjoy Singapore. Not just the conference, but also our delicious food here. To our local guests, thank you for being here, and for your continued partnership in growing our agri-food sector in Singapore. I hope the conversations and the relationships that you will strike up this week can lead to new partnerships and ideas that can be put to work across our food systems.

Why SIAW Matters

3. SIAW is one of the Asia-Pacific’s leading platforms for the agri-food community to come together, exchange ideas and form partnerships to advance more sustainable and resilient food systems. Its significance lies not only in its scale, but in the urgency of the moment before us.

4. The food systems across the world are undergoing severe stress because of climate change, supply chain, geopolitical tensions, and resource constraints. The list of constraints and challenges just goes on. Yet, let’s not focus on the challenges. Let’s also focus on the opportunities ahead of us. Even as these pressures intensify, let’s also believe that our capacity to respond will grow too. Advances in science and technology are opening new ways for us to produce food more sustainably, efficiently and resiliently.

5. However, innovation alone is simply not enough. Innovation creates possibilities; but it requires us to adopt at scale for these ideas to be really brought to the world and to create practical and long-term impact. Our challenge lies in translating promising ideas into practical solutions that can be deployed across the entire value chain, and ultimately reach consumers’ tables. That requires not only technology, but partnerships, investment, and policies – all the various ingredients that the room here can bring to the table.

6. This is precisely why SIAW matters so much. It convenes the people who can turn promising ideas into real solutions that create impact: the innovators in the room, the policymakers in the room, the companies, the investors, the financiers. You create the conditions for adoption to happen at scale.

7. For Singapore, food security is not just an abstract concept. As a small island nation, it is a strategic imperative. Our circumstances have given us a deep appreciation of the importance of resilient and diversified food systems, and the value of serving as a convenor of all the people across the value chain, and be the test bed for ideas. This understanding has also deepened our conviction that food security is ultimately a shared challenge that no country can solve alone.

Substantive Agenda for SIAW 2026

8. It is therefore fitting that this year’s Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit organised by William Reed is shaping up to be its most ambitious and impactful edition yet.

9. Some 200 distinguished speakers will come together to explore one of the most pressing questions of our time: how can we accelerate the journey from innovation to widespread adoption, and build food systems that are more resilient and sustainable? Discussions will span advances in biologicals and genetics, new approaches to nutrition, and the potential of AI-enabled research and biomanufacturing. Just as importantly, beyond all the technology and scientific discoveries, they will explore the practical challenges on the ground, around commercialisation, regulatory pathways, market access, and business models. How can we support all these breakthroughs and bring them to the market, to the people that need it most?

10. This year also saw the launch of a dedicated Investment Forum, held earlier this afternoon. The launch of the Forum signals an important shift in the agri-food scientific ecosystem: from conversations on what is technologically possible, to what can be financed, commercialised and deployed at scale. Bridging that gap will require new financing models, stronger partnerships and closer alignment across the innovation value chain.

11. By bringing together innovators, investors, industry leaders and policymakers from across the region, the Forum truly creates an opportunity to forge partnerships that are meaningful, and accelerate commercialisation that can then strengthen food resilience across the world.

SIAW’s Growing Regional Impact

12. This year’s SIAW is particularly significant. For the first time, it is being held alongside the ASEAN Ministers for Agriculture and Forestry Meetings.

13. We are honoured to welcome ASEAN Agriculture Ministers to the Summit and to hear their perspectives on the future of agriculture and food systems in our region.

14. Several Ministers will also be speaking on Day Two of the Summit, where they will share their various approaches to strengthening agricultural productivity, sustainability and food security. I encourage all of you to join these sessions, which offer a valuable chance to better understand the diverse, extremely varied challenges and realities on the ground in our region.

15. Their participation in SIAW underscores the importance of regional cooperation in addressing issues that no single country can tackle alone. It also creates opportunities for governments and the private sector to come together, exchange perspectives and explore how we can work more closely together to address challenges in our food systems. We hope these conversations will spark new conversations, partnerships, and ideas to support our collective action to strengthen food security in the region.

16. SIAW will continue to grow, and we are now looking ahead to its next chapter.

17. I am pleased to announce that, from 2027, SIAW will welcome a new flagship event: the Fresh Food Expo Asia Pacific, or FFE APAC. Taking place from 16 to 18 November next year, in conjunction with SIAW 2027, FFE APAC will bring the fresh food, agri-technology, logistics and distribution communities together under one roof. By connecting the full food value chain from farm to fork, it will create opportunities for trade, technology adoption and cross-border partnerships, further strengthening regional collaboration.

18. This new venture will be led and organised by Messe Berlin, one of the world’s leading organisers of international trade fairs and exhibitions. We warmly welcome Messe Berlin to the SIAW family and look forward to growing this platform together in the years ahead.

19. These developments strengthen SIAW’s role as a regional platform that connects the people, capabilities, expertise and markets needed to build a stronger food system.

Conclusion

20. In conclusion, this evening marks the beginning of a very important week.

21. Over the next couple of days, I encourage you to initiate a conversation that can move a promising idea to reality—whether through a new partnership, an investment or a pathway to market.

22. Thank you once again to all of you for joining us today, and for the work you do, not just for today as a single session, but all of your collective experiences here to build a more resilient, sustainable and food-secure systems. Together, we can strengthen our partnerships, deepen regional collaboration, turn innovation into adoption, and create a long-lasting impact for our region’s food resilience.

23. Have a wonderful evening. I wish you a productive and rewarding SIAW 2026. Thank you.