WIPO Director General Daren Tang attended IP Week@SG 2025 where he took part in panel discussions and other events on August 26-27, 2025 to highlight the importance of IP as a catalyst for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
Mr. Tang emphasized the importance of looking at IP from a business and economic angle, highlighting how the IP community needs to step up its work to support SMEs, jobs, and drive economic transformation across sectors. Through a series of bilateral meetings, he reinforced WIPO’s commitment to regional collaboration, youth empowerment and professional IP training, positioning IP as a cornerstone of future-ready economies.
Engagements:
- Made a courtesy call on key political appointment holders, namely Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Minister for Law Edwin Tong SC. Discussions centered around the multilateral environment, the use of IP as a catalyst for growth and development, the importance of developing IP skills and competencies, the importance of IP to the creative economy and the sports industry, and the growing value of intangible assets in the local and global economy.
- Delivered an opening address, together with Mr. Tan Kong Hwee, Chief Executive, IPOS and Mr. Hiroki Kitamura, Director General, Patent and Design Examination Department, Japan Patent Office (JPO), Tokyo on the theme of empowering SMEs through inclusive, scalable and strategic use of IP to drive innovation, economic transformation, and sustainable development.
- Delivered keynote remarks for Global Forum on Intellectual Property (GFIP) on the theme “Ideas to Assets; Innovating in times of change.”
- Participated in the panel “IPOS X WIPO – Value Creation through IP: From Intangible Assets to Strategic Growth” where Mr. Tang emphasized the growing global recognition of IP as a strategic tool for economic development. He highlighted how countries are increasingly leveraging IP to nurture homegrown entrepreneurship and called for industry-wide collaboration to build vibrant IP ecosystems among SMEs.
- Engaged with Director General Bemanya Twebaze, African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), reaffirming ARIPO and WIPO’s strong partnership, and discussing youth empowerment and regional IP development.
- Engaged with Mr. Nobert Mao, Uganda's Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, to reaffirm WIPO’s commitment to supporting Uganda’s IP journey, with a shared focus of empowering youth and integrating IP into national development strategies.
- Engaged with IPOS Chief Executive, Mr. Tan Kong Hwee, on Singapore’s role as a regional hub for global IP dialogues, discussed expanding IP training and certification and integrating IP and AI into global innovation strategies.