On Oct. 10, the Sultan of Johor Ibrahim Iskandar called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for dinner at the Istana.

Crab curry

The Sultan of Johor Ibrahim Iskandar was accompanied by his wife Raja Zarith, as well as the the Crown Prince of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and Che'Puan Khaleeda.

PM Lee recalled his last visit to Johor, where the Sultan had served a "very sedap (delicious) nasi ulam" to PM Lee and Ho Ching.

During this visit, PM Lee returned the favour by serving a a selection of Ibrahim's favourite Singaporean dishes, including crab curry.

Also present at the meal was Minister for Law and Home Affairs, K Shanmugam.

Special Zone

PM Lee also spoke about the close Singapore - Johor relationship, praising Ibrahim's leadership.

He lauded the several projects that were launched in order to improve trade and connectivity, such as the RTS Link.

PM Lee noted the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, which he and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim are expected to discuss during the annual leader's retreat, due to take place later this month.

Preliminary discussions have taken place, notably when Anwar was in Singapore in September to speak at the Milken Institute's Asia Summit.

Ibrahim has also previously spoken about his positive expectations for the SEZ in a recent interview.

Special relationship

The sultan, in his own social media post, lauded the "deep and warm special relationship" between Singapore and Johor.

The post referred to Ibrahim as a strong advocate for closer ties between Johor and Singapore.

The sultan said he believed there remained a "huge potential to elevate relations to greater heights" for the benefit of both Singaporeans and Johoreans.

Desmond Lee in KL

The visit comes after Minister for National Development Desmond Lee took a multi-day official trip to Kuala Lumpur and Pahang.

While in KL, Lee met with several Malaysian political and government leaders, including his counterpart, Malaysian Minister of Local Development Nga Kor Ming, Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi, and Minister of Economic Affairs Rafizi Ramli.

He also met the Crown Prince of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah.

Lee also met with Minister of Works Alexander Nanta Linggi to discuss improvements to productivity in the construction sector.

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Top image via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar/Facebook