SINGAPORE, Oct 29 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has arrived in Singapore tonight ahead of his two-day working visit in conjunction with the 10th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat that begins tomorrow.
The aircraft with the prime minister onboard landed at the VIP Complex of Changi International Airport at 10 pm, and he was received upon his arrival by Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia Vanu Gopala Menon, along with Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir and Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Azfar Mohamad Mustafar.
Anwar has been to Singapore twice previously after becoming Malaysia’s prime minister, his first official visit in January, and then participating in two special sessions at the Milken Institute’s 10th Annual Asia Summit in September.
According to Wisma Putra, Anwar and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong will deliberate on measures to further advance relations and cooperation, including new initiatives relating to smooth connectivity, cross-border movements as well as collaboration on green energy during his visit, which will also be the first meeting between the two leaders in the framework of the Retreat.
Both leaders will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of entrepreneurship and a side letter to improve provisions of the Third Malaysia-Singapore Business Development Fund (MSBDF).
Anwar is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
The Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat is the highest level bilateral mechanism between the two countries, hosted alternately since 2007.
The Leaders’ Retreat has been postponed since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. — Bernama
