Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will begin his series of introductory visits to Southeast Asian capitals with visits to Brunei and Malaysia from Jun. 11 to 12, 2024.

This was announced by the Prime Minister's Office in a Jun. 10 statement.

PM Wong will be visiting the two countries at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bokiah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam, and the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim.

During PM Wong's absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will be the acting Prime Minister.

Brunei

During PM Wong's upcoming visit to Brunei, he and his delegation will have a royal audience with the Sultan and his wife, Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha.

The Sultan will also host PM Wong and his delegation for an official lunch.

PM Wong and his delegation will also meet His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office of Brunei, as well as his wife, Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah.

In Brunei, PM Wong will be accompanied by his wife, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, and Minister of State for Communications and Information and Minister of State for Health Rahayu Mahzam.

Malaysia

PM Wong will proceed from Brunei to Malaysia on the evening of Jun. 11, where he will meet Anwar as well as other Malaysian leaders.

Earlier in May 2024, Anwar told then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that he stood ready to continue strengthening the close relations between Malaysia and Singapore under PM Wong's leadership after then-PM Lee's handover.

On May 28, PM Wong announced in a Facebook post that he had accepted Anwar's invitation to make an introductory visit to Malaysia before the annual Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat, which would take place later this year.

The last Leaders' Retreat was held in Singapore from Oct. 29 to 30, 2023, when then-PM Lee met with Anwar.

Archipelagic meetings

PM Wong's upcoming visits to Brunei and Malaysia come approximately six weeks after he visited Indonesia for the seventh Singapore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat in April 2024 as Deputy Prime Minister.

At the retreat, then-PM Lee and Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo met for the last time in their respective roles, with then-PM Lee thanking Jokowi for making a "special effort" to host him before the official handover of power on May 15.

The retreat involved a four person meeting where, in addition to then-PM Lee and Jokowi, Wong was able to simultaneously meet with Indonesian President-Elect and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, who will become president in October 2024.

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Top images via Lawrence Wong/Facebook