Singapore, Vietnam emphasize importance of maintaining rules-based system at G20

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - Singapore and Vietnam Saturday emphasized the importance of maintaining the rules-based system at a session of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, which they attended as guests.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the rules-based multilateral system anchored by the World Trade Organization is "now under severe strain."

One reason is that the system is failing to catch up to today's world, Wong said, drawing attention to the "fact that interdependencies are increasingly being seen as vulnerabilities and are open to being weaponized or used as leverage in moments of dispute."

However, "if every nation goes its own way, the global system will unravel even more quickly, and when that happens, everyone will be worse off, and the heaviest burden will fall on the developing nations," he said, urging a reform and update of the global system to ensure it addresses the strategic realities of our time.

"We must recommit to the core foundations which remain relevant today ... reform the current system, be it the WTO or other global institutions ... We should complement the WTO with flexible multilateral approaches ... We should build new partnerships," he said.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, in his speech at the session, said the world is undergoing profound and unprecedented changes and put forward three points to promote inclusive and sustainable growth and ensure that no one is left behind, according to a government statement.

These include ensuring stability in international relations, world politics, and global macroeconomics; maintaining a rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its center, a balanced, transparent, and open global financial system, and equal access to science, technology, and finance for development; and promoting flexible and effective global governance.