SINGAPORE - The future of food, medicine, and digital technology have been earmarked as research targets to keep Singapore competitive in the long term, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Wednesday evening .
Giving an update on the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 plan for Singapore's science and technology research, Mr Heng said more than $500 million will be set aside to build up artificial intelligence systems and meet national cybersecurity needs. Another $80 million will be invested into ramping up cell manufacturing capabilities for cell therapy, which has been hailed as the future of medicine.The funds are part of $19 billion that was budgeted in 2016 under the RIE2020 plan for the next five years.
PM Lee stressed the importance of Singaporeans sharing a mindset that"embraces scientific, objective and evidence-based decision making".