Event report
Past Event | France–Singapore Frontier Technologies Forum 2025
In celebration of 60 years of bilateral relations between France and Singapore, the France–Singapore Frontier Technologies Forum 2025 was held as part of the French Presidential State Visit and marked the closing event of the France–Singapore Joint Year of Sustainability.
Hosted at the historic Fullerton Hotel, the forum was co-organised by the French Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy of France in Singapore, Medef International, and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF). The event brought together over 200 guests from government, industry and the business community.
A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors — Société Générale, Thales, and TotalEnergies — for their invaluable support in making this event possible.
We were honoured by the presence of:
• Ms Clara Chappaz, Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, France
• Ms Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity, Singapore
• Mr Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore•
• Mr Eric Lombard, Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry, France
Their participation underscored the two nations’ commitment to strengthening partnerships across emerging and critical technologies, formalising new areas of cooperation through strategic dialogue and tangible agreements.
Two panel discussions followed. The first, titled "Advancing Open and Secure AI: A French–Singaporean Perspective," focused on cross-border cooperation in developing ethical and trustworthy AI systems.
Speakers included:
• Prof. Antoine Petit, CEO, CNRS
• Chee Wee Ang, Chief AI Officer and Assistant Chief Executive, HTX
• Dr Lee Shiang Long, Group CTO STEngineering
• Mickael Brossard, VP of the cortAIx Factory, Thales
• Geoff Soon, VP Revenue, Mistral AI
Moderator: Laurence Liew Director, AI Innovation, AI Singapore
The discussion explored the challenges of building AI systems that are both innovative and secure, and emphasized the importance of shared governance frameworks and research exchanges between France and Singapore.
The second panel addressed the transition to low-carbon infrastructure and clean energy, bringing together energy leaders from both nations in a session titled "Powering Tomorrow’s Infrastructure: The Path to Net Zero."
Speakers included:
•Helle Kristoffersen, President Asia and Executive Committee Member, TotalEnergies
• Stéphanie Clément de Givry, MD, Head of Global Banking & Advisory, Société Générale
• Tan Cheng Guan, EVP, Office of the Group CEO, Sembcorp
• Jackson Goh, MD, Environment, Keppel
• Stefano Buono, Chairman & CEO, Newcleo
• Mathieu Geze, Director of APAC, HDF Energy
Moderator: Puah Kok Keong, Chief Executive, EMA
This session focused on regional cooperation and innovation in smart grids, green finance, and renewable energy infrastructure, as well as the critical role of the ASEAN Power Grid in supporting decarbonisation goals.
These high-level discussions were complemented by the announcement of 14 strategic agreements and partnerships on Artificial Intelligence and Energy, highlighting the tangible outcomes of the forum and the deepening cooperation between France and Singapore. These agreements notably involved key players such as CNRS, Thales, Air Liquide, VSMC, OSTIn, IMDA, HTX, EDB, CMA CGM, SGTradeX, Quandela, NQO, NRP, ESCP, NTU, Université Grenoble Alpes, EDF, RTE, Think SmartGrids, Mistral AI, EVP/Head ST Engineering, AI Singapore, Singapore Energy Interconnections and Singa Renewables.
These milestones demonstrate the depth of collaboration between businesses, research institutions, and public agencies in both countries, reinforcing a shared vision for strong economic cooperation and innovation-driven growth in digitalisation, clean energy, and advanced technologies.
Finally, a key moment of the forum was the issuance by the Energy Market Authority, in the presence of Ministers Tan See Leng and Lombard, of a Conditional Licence to the Singa RE Consortium, which includes TotalEnergies and Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), to import 1GW of low-carbon electricity from Indonesia. The project will serve as a foundational pillar of the ASEAN Power Grid.
