Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong will be going to Bogor, Indonesia to attend the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat.

The retreat, hosted by Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, will be PM Lee's seventh and final Leaders’ retreat with Jokowi, and vice versa, as both countries will have a change in leadership in 2024.

Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will take over PM Lee in May, while Indonesia's Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, having won the presidential election, will take over Jokowi in October.

Review Singapore-Indonesia relations

The Singapore Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announced PM Lee's visit to Indonesia in a statement released on Apr. 26.

During the one-day retreat, PM Lee and Jokowi will take stock of the significant progress made on bilateral cooperation during their respective tenures, PMO said.

This includes the three agreements under the Expanded Framework that came into force in March 2024.

The three agreements are:

• The 2022 Agreement on the Realignment of the Boundary between the Jakarta Flight Information Region and the Singapore Flight Information Region;
• The 2022 Treaty for the Extradition of Fugitives; and
• The 2007 Defence Cooperation Agreement.

The 2014 Treaty Relating to the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas in the Eastern Part of the Strait of Singapore, which was ratified in September 2017 is also on the agenda.

Singapore and Indonesia have also made advances in bilateral cooperation in other areas including defence, trade and investment, and financial cooperation.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, both sides also strengthened cooperation in healthcare.

At the upcoming leaders’ retreat, PM Lee and Jokowi will also review the progress made in areas such as defence, the digital economy, and sustainability.

PM Lee will be accompanied by Wong, as well as the following political office-holders:

• Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean
• Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen
• Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan
• Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing
• Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli
• Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung
• Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng

Top image from Lee Hsien Loong/Facebook