On August 25, 2026, Singapore announced that it will put forward a bid to host the Multilateral Investment Tribunal being negotiated in UNCITRAL Working Group III, a permanent standing body, modelled on courts such as the ICJ and ITLOS, that would hear investor-state disputes through a bench of independent, elected members serving fixed terms. Minister for Law Edwin Tong SC made the announcement at the UNCITRAL Academy Conference during Singapore Convention Week. To support the bid, Singapore has pledged a dedicated facility for hearings, tribunal members, and a registry, an assistance fund to help developing and least developed countries access the tribunal, and translation and transcription services; the city-state already hosts offices of the PCA and ICSID. The bid lands while the tribunal’s draft statute is still under negotiation, ahead of Working Group III’s 55th session in October 2026, and before any decision exists to establish the body at all.