Keynote Address by Minister of State for Trade and Industry Foo Cexiang at SBF’s LATAM Conference 2026: Nuevos Caminos – For A Changed World

Chairman of Singapore Business Federation (SBF) Mr Mark Lee,

1. Buenos dias and bom dia. A warm welcome to our friends from Latin America, especially those who have travelled to Singapore to be with us today. It is a pleasure to join you at this year’s LATAM Conference.

2. Now in its third edition, the Conference continues to bring together government and business leaders from Singapore and across Latin America to explore opportunities and build new partnerships.

3. I commend SBF for its efforts in bringing our two regions closer together. The theme for this year’s conference is “Nuevos Caminos”. It means new paths or, metaphorically, new opportunities and new horizons. This is apt indeed.

4. For me, I have just taken on a new portfolio spanning the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Manpower. Latin America may be a new portfolio for me, but it is certainly not a new fascination. My earliest introduction to Latin America came through football.

5. Like many Singaporeans of my generation, I was captivated by the 1994 World Cup. I was only nine years old, but I still remember waking up at odd hours to watch the matches.

6. The first players who caught my eye were not even from the team I supported. It was Colombia’s Carlos Valderrama, with his unforgettable hair and extraordinary creativity. And Mexico’s Jorge Campos, the goalkeeper who seemed determined to prove that goalkeepers did not have to dress like goalkeepers.

7. Of course, my favourite player was Roberto Baggio. I followed Italy all the way to the Final, only to watch him endure one of football’s most heartbreaking moments when his penalty sailed over the bar against Brazil.

8. But looking back, what fascinated me was not just the football. Football was the representation, the representation of passion and of the culture. It was the energy that seemed to flow through the region.