Anwar Hosts Luncheon In Honour Of Visiting Singapore PM

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hosted an official luncheon in honour of his visiting Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, at the Seri Perdana, here today.

Joining them were 60 Standard Six pupils from Sekolah Kebangsaan Presint 18 (1).

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi were also present.

Wong and his delegation arrived in Malaysia yesterday for a two-day official visit in conjunction with the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat.

Earlier, Wong was accorded an official welcome at Perdana Putra, followed by a meeting with Anwar.

Both leaders also witnessed the exchange of the joint agreement on Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), six memoranda of understanding in the field of women and social welfare, climate change, carbon capture and storage, urban development, combatting transnational crimes and higher education, together with one letter of intent on education.

The JS-SEZ aims to bring mutual benefits to businesses and people from both sides, including enhancing the flow of goods and people, improving the ease of doing business, and supporting talent development.

As close neighbours and founding members of ASEAN, Malaysia and Singapore have a long-standing, broad and multifaceted relation across various fields.

Both countries remain each other’s second-largest trading partners, with bilateral trade amounting to RM360.12 billion (US$78.59 billion) from January to November 2024, a 6.7 per cent increase over the same period in 2023.

This year also marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

-- BERNAMA