Up until a few days ago, the Bloomberg Forum sounded like a boring meeting of journalists from Bloomberg.
In reality, it’s actually an annual boring meeting involving over 400 business and government leaders.
This year, Singapore was chosen to host the Bloomberg New Economic Forum, as many of you already know.
News that delegates of the forum would be able to dine-in in groups of five was received negatively by some netizens, who noted that fully vaccinated residents here can only dine in groups of up to two.
If you want to know why the authorities are allowing this, head here.
For the rest of you who want to know more about this suddenly infamous forum, read on.
A Meeting to Discuss Global Issues
Back in May, when Singapore was announced as the host, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described the forum as a meeting where business leaders will convene to “discuss pertinent global issues”.
Due to the ambiguity of this phrase, this could refer to the COVID-19 pandemic or shortage of popcorn in stores ever since the NOC saga emerged.
However, it appears that the pandemic will indeed be the most important topic discussed in this year’s forum.
“The global economic challenges deepened by the pandemic bring a special level of urgency to this year’s New Economy Forum,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
In fact, the first thing on the agenda for this year’s forum is how the world has been reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the world of business.
“Global lockdowns freed creative minds, leading to a surge of breakthrough innovation in everything from healthcare and education to connectivity and logistics. The business world has entered a new era of discovery, drawing on advances in fundamental science like artificial intelligence, gene editing and space technology,” it said.
Delegates at the meeting will also discuss the climate crisis, the future of energy, preventative care, as well as the “decay” of truth, among other things.
Speakers in the forum include PM Lee, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Bill Gates, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Safety Concerns
Naturally, with hundreds of delegates coming together here, some are concerned about the virus spreading to the community.
As Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said yesterday (25 Oct), “In business networking, you do want to meet as many people as you can.”
But this is why the authorities imposed numerous safety measures for those involved, including:
- requiring all participants to be fully vaccinated
- undergoing pre-event testing every day on conference days, meaning they need a daily negative test
Upon their arrival in Singapore, foreign delegates must also undergo a PCR COVID-19 test and stay in their hotel rooms until they get a negative result. If negative, they are exempted from quarantine.
What’s more, the eateries where they are allowed to dine in groups of five are pre-designated venues that have been booked solely for the forum.
Over 400 delegates from 51 countries are expected to attend the forum, which will be held from 16 to 19 Nov.
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Featured Image: Kaie Lee / Shutterstock.com
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