Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 18.
He was hosted to lunch by the Saudi royal, and discussed matters like economic cooperation and Singaporean Haj pilgrims, as announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press statement on Oct. 18.
PM Lee is visiting the kingdom from Oct. 17 to 20, upon Crown Prince Mohammed's invitation.
Excellent bilateral ties
PM Lee and Crown Prince Mohammed reaffirmed their excellent bilateral relations.
They agreed to strengthen bilateral relations in areas such as trade and investment, green energy, digital economy, and public sector development.
Both leaders also welcomed the continued exchange of study visits and the sharing of best practices.
PM Lee called on and was hosted to lunch by Crown Prince Mohammed at the Al Yamamah Palace.
PM Lee thanked Saudi Arabia for making Haj arrangements for S'pore Muslims
PM Lee thanked Crown Prince Mohammed for making Haj arrangements for Singapore Muslim pilgrims during the Covid-19 pandemic.
These arrangements include allowing 900 pilgrims from Singapore to make the Haj in 2022, an increase from the initial allocation of 407 places, and matched the pre-pandemic quota.
Haj pilgrims who fell severely ill with Covid-19 were also referred to hospitals in Saudi Arabia.
PM Lee also reiterated Singapore’s request to increase the number of pilgrims allowed to make the Haj.
PM Lee was hosted to lunch by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince
PM Lee thanked Crown Prince Mohammed for Saudi Arabia's support to review and upgrade the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Singapore Free Trade Agreement to include new areas of economic development.
The agreement, which entered into force in 2013, encourages greater exchanges between the GCC economies and Singapore in areas of mutual interest.
Besides Saudi Arabia, other GCC members include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
While in Saudi Arabia, PM Lee will also attend the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit on Oct. 20, the first summit between leaders from both regions.
S'pore companies interested in new growth areas under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030: PM Lee
PM Lee welcomed more Saudi Arabian companies to use Singapore as the "gateway" to Southeast Asia.
PM Lee also noted the keen interest of Singapore companies in new growth areas under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 during the Saudi-Singapore Joint Committee session.
The new areas include connectivity, digital economy and innovation, and energy and industry
These were discussed during the third session of the Saudi-Singapore Joint Committee (SSJC) in Riyadh on Oct. 17.
Several memorandums of understanding and agreements will also be signed during the visit, in areas like human capital and leadership development, technical and vocational education and training, fintech cooperation, and energy cooperation.
Both leaders also discussed global and regional developments including recent tensions in the Middle East.
He invited Crown Prince Mohammed to visit Singapore and looked forward to welcoming him at a mutually convenient time.
PM Lee will be visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next on Oct. 21-22.
Top image from Lee Hsien Loong/Facebook.
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