We are a dynamic people shaping Singapore’s economic future and enhancing Singaporeans’ livelihoods.

You can be at the forefront of international trade policy and entrusted to grow Singapore’s external trade and economic space.You will gain international exposure through official travel and networking opportunities with senior government and business leaders

You can shape the future of industries, spot emerging opportunities, overcome Singapore’s resource constraints and play a critical role in ensuring Singapore’s economic competitiveness and growth.

You can be developed as an Economist in one of the most esteemed schemes of service in the Civil Service and advance economic thought in Government and public policy.

You can play a critical role in enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the ministry through your professional knowledge and solutions to meet organisational challenges.

Desmond Tay, Senior Assistant Director
(International Negotiations Division)

Desmond joined MTI in 2004 and spent 2 years with the MTI Trade Division before he was posted to the Geneva Overseas Mission for 3 years. He has since returned to MTI and is now making his contributions shaping Singapore’s stand and policies in the area of Climate Change.

There is a sense of purpose in his work, he says, because Singapore is among the top 10 trading nations and exports more than $400 billion worth of goods annually. “What I love most is the opportunity that is given to you and the trust in you to deliver on that opportunity.”

Within months of joining MTI, he was sitting at the negotiation table for Free Trade Agreements. Besides conducting analysis and providing policy recommendations, he also works with industry representatives to better represent their interests. He says: “What you need is not specialist knowledge, but an appetite for new challenges and a creative problem-solving mind… You need to think like a man of action and act like a man of thought.”

In June 2007, when the Doha round of trade negotiations reached a stalemate, he worked with delegates from the Pakistan, Chile and Mexico missions and initiated the formation of a “middle ground group” of about 10 developing nations. To date, this group has collaborated to urge members of the WTO to resist trade protectionism in the midst of a global economic slowdown.

Desmond’s current Climate Change portfolio has brought him to Bangkok, Barcelona and most recently Copenhagen for international roundtables and conferences. He is challenged by the uphill task of striking a balance between economic growth, job creation and carbon emissions. He says, “A more carbon-friendly economy can translate as growth opportunities for the cleantech sector. Reduction in carbon emissions does not always mean forgoing economic growth or jobs.”

Assistant Director (Energy Policy), Energy Division