Madeira aspires to be the ‘Singapore of the Atlantic’

The regional secretary for health in Madeira, Pedro Ramos, said on Friday that the region aims to be the ‘Singapore of the Atlantic’, arguing that this ambition “cannot be considered unreasonable”.

“I am increasingly convinced that we are at that stage of development in Madeira that defines it as the ‘Singapore of the Atlantic’,” said Pedro Ramos, speaking at the inauguration of the room equipped with 5G signal at Dr Nélio Mendonça Hospital in Funchal.

The governor pointed out that the region has about 250,000 inhabitants, while Singapore has six million, but stressed that Madeira is larger in terms of geographical area and noted that “those who knew Singapore 40, 50 years ago, know that Singapore was not what it is now”.

“So there is a whole journey and this ambition cannot be considered unreasonable and has to be realised by all of us,” he stressed.

“Madeira is a safe region for the whole world, healthy, where we will also have the ambition to create scientific hubs, economic hubs, financial hubs and we want more people to come here,” reinforced the regional health secretary of the Madeira PSD/CDS-PP coalition government.

Listing some of the phases Madeira has been through throughout its 600-year history, Pedro Ramos stressed that the region is currently in the digital transition phase, which will bring benefits to the health area.

The governor also pointed out that the new Madeira Central and University Hospital “will be a reality within five to six years” and will be equipped with the 5G network.

However, he admitted, “there will probably be some setbacks”, motivated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.