Singapore to launch new sustainable development programme

Singapore authorities have announced the launch of a new programme where it will work with partners on sustainable development, the media reported on Monday.

Speaking on Sunday at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York, Minister for Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said the programme supports the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development -- a global framework which outlines 17 goals to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change over the next 15 years, Channel News Asia reported.

"As a responsible global citizen, Singapore will continue to give back to the international community," Balakrishnan said.

Under the new programme, Singapore will work with partners to provide technical assistance and capacity building to developing countries in the areas of leadership and governance, sustainable cities and water and sanitation solutions.

In his speech, Balakrishnan also raised the problem of transboundary haze as an example of an "issue of sustainable development which cannot be addressed unilaterally".

"Countries are individually tackling this problem of transboundary haze. But we need closer regional and international cooperation to apply legal and commercial pressure on errant companies to prevent them from profiting from unsustainable land and forest clearing," he added.