Employees wait for a shuttle bus at a 5G testing park at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China May 29, 2019.

Singapore plans to become an innovation hub for the next generation of high-speed mobile internet known as 5G.

On Thursday, the country's minister for communications and information, S Iswaran, said the city-state has set aside 40 million Singapore dollars (more than $29.5 million) to support 5G research and innovation.

"Our aim is to facilitate the deployment of standalone 5G networks to tap into the potential of the technology," Iswaran said at the Innovfest Unbound conference.

A standalone network refers to new infrastructure designed using 5G-specific technologies. It is said to be relatively cheaper and more efficient compared to many of the initial wave of 5G networks that are being rolled out using existing infrastructure — known as non-standalone 5G.

The technology is "the backbone" of Singapore's digital economy, Iswaran later told CNBC's Matt Taylor in an interview. "Its resilience and security are key," he said.

The new investment is part of an initiative announced at the conference in Singapore to begin early adoption trials for 5G technology. It is set to be in areas such as maritime operations, urban mobility, and various consumer and government applications that can improve Singapore's economic competitiveness.