Singapore celebrates success on the sixtieth anniversary of its founding, but the challenges waved on the horizon | Business and Economics News

Singapore – With the approaching celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee in Singapore on Saturday night, the width of the huge fireworks will light up the extraordinary city horizon.

The skyscrapers and many future buildings stand as a honor to develop the wonderful country after separating from Malaysia in 1965.

This small country in Southeast Asia, with a population of more than six million people, has one of the highest rates of wealth for the individual in the world. Its advanced economy attracts workers from all over the world.

The financial axis is famous for its stability, the high standard of living, the approach to thinking forward, and something reputation in the central rule.

Although Singapore will lie in some success this week, as soon as the flags decrease and remove SG60 goods from shelves, the island’s countries will return to work and start thinking about their future.

The plans are already present to continue the growth of Singapore, with the most famous in its teacher-to house a new fourth fourth hotel for hotel rooms in 2029, while an internal square of 15,000 seats will also be built on site.

The Changi International Airport, which was classified this year as the best in the world for the thirteenth time, will also get a fifth station by the mid -thirties.

It is clear that “Lion City” residents have a lot to look forward to, but the next road may also contain some pits.

Al -Jazeera has taken a look at some of the challenges that Singapore might face in the next sixties and how it could be addressed.

Climate

As a low island, sitting north of the equator, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to the changing climate threat. The former Prime Minister of the country, Lee Hsin Long, once described the issue of “life and death”.

The rise in the seas and increased precipitation can lead to floods, as harsh weather events were more common.

While the city’s state has even evaded this type of weather disturbance that affects many of its neighbors, the government is preparing for the worst.

High sea levels are a special concern, with disturbing estimates that the water surrounding Singapore may rise by more than a meter (3.2 feet) by 2100.

To face the threat, plans are considered to build three artificial islands off the eastern coast of the country. These reclaimed land areas will be linked by tidal gates and sits higher than the mainland, as they operate as a barrier.

Benjamin Horton, the former director of the Earth Observatory in Singapore, said that the country could stop by standing if the catastrophic rain is combined with the high tide.

Horton said: “If a lot of infrastructure is flooded in Singapore, where MRTS (comprehensive rapid transmission) closed, closing emergency roads, dumping the power plant, and electricity falls – Singapore will be paralyzed,” Horton said.

The Southeast Asia Financial Center will have to have already wandering in overcoming the hottest conditions.

A government study 2024 found that the average daily temperature may rise by up to 5 ° C (9 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.

Horton, who is now the Dean of the College of Energy and Environment at Hong Kong University, said this may affect the country’s economic productivity, “Horton, who is now the Dean of the College of Energy and Environment at Hong Kong University.

He said: “Singapore always develops and relies on immigrant workers working abroad during the day. Climate change will affect this significantly.”

However, Horton said that Singapore has “the ability to be a pioneer in how you adapt to climate change and to be a leader in coastal protection.”

Demographic bomb

The population of Singapore is progressing at a rapid rate.

By 2030, it is estimated that about one in four citizens will be 65 years old and over.

Singapore’s expected age is born just less than 84 years old, as residents benefit from the quality of a high life and a global health care system.

But this demographic transformation is scheduled to challenge the city of the city over the next six decades.

The population of aging will require more investment in the medical sector, while the country’s workforce may face a shortage of younger workers.

“The resulting strain will not only test the elasticity of health care institutions, but also puts great emotional, physical and financial pressure on family care providers,” said Chuan de Fu, a research colleague at Sway Hook University for Public Health.

While the authorities are looking to expand and enhance healthcare facilities, they also urge citizens to make better lifestyle choices in order to stay more healthier for a longer period. New marketing campaigns encourage regular health checks, allowing early intervention, while new technology is also used.

“The tools driven by artificial intelligence are developed to support mental luxury, detect early signs of clinical deterioration, help in diagnosis and manage diseases,” Vu told the island of the island.

Less children

Besides living for a longer period, Singaporene – like many advanced Asian economies – also give birth to fewer children, increases the country’s demographic problems.

The fertility rate, which measures the average number of children that women are expected to have in their life less than 1.0 for the first time in 2023 and show only few signs of the increase.

This number is less than the Japan fertility rate of 1.15. This week, Japan informed its sixteenth year in a row from the population, achieving nearly one million deaths in 2024.

Kalpana Vignehsa, an older research colleague at the NUS Political Studies Institute, said the Singapore government “swims against the cultural tide” in its efforts to reflect the decline in births.

“It is time to work widely to make paternity and motherhood less expensive and less tired, and most importantly, a high value and collectively supported activity,” said Vignehsa.

Unstable

Singapore is famous for its neutral approach to foreign policy, and a balance between strong relations with China and the United States.

But as relations between the largest great powers in the world are strained, the neutrality of the city of Lion City can be challenged.

Alan Chung, his oldest colleague at the College of International Studies in Rajaratnam for International Studies, said any axis towards Washington or Beijing is likely to be hidden.

He said that this position took place during the Covid’s pandemic, when Washington was not with the help of Asian economies.

“All Southeast Asia, including Singapore, is tilted towards Beijing to obtain economic support without announcing it,” said Chung.

The policy of the punitive tariff for US President Donald Trump also caused panic in the business center in Southeast Asia, which depends heavily on global trade.

Despite the increasingly threatening Washington’s protectionist policies, Chong believes that Singapore is ready to overcome the storm after signing a trade agreement in 2020.

The comprehensive regional economic partnership between 15 Southeast Asian countries was agreed mainly, as well as the main economies of North Asia, including China, Japan and South Korea.

“It is a huge insurance against any comprehensive closure of trade,” said Chung.

Stability at home

While the international view appears increasingly turbulent, the local political scene in Singapore is determined for more stability in the coming years.

The PAP Work Party (PAP) has been in power since the formation of the country and has not shown any signs of loss of control.

In the May elections, PAP, led by new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, won all seats except for 10 seats in Parliament with just over 65 percent of the votes.

While the country’s leaders are likely to remain as in the short term, Teo Kay Key, a research colleague at the Institute of Social Policy Studies, said that young Singaporeans will soon want a different style of politics, which is more open and more participatory.

She said, “They are likely to prefer discussions and exchange opinions.”

“There is also an increasing trend where the preference is to hold open discussions, with a more democratic exchange of ideas,” she added.