Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his wife hosted a dinner for visiting Brunei Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah and his wife, Princess Pengiran Anak Sarah, on Sep. 13 at Gardens by the Bay.
PM Wong, who is also Minister for Finance, said on Instagram: “His Royal Highness and I reaffirmed our commitment to the special relationship between our countries, discussed existing and new areas of cooperation, and unveiled commemorative stamps for the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties.”
PM Wong was hosting Crown Prince Billah, 50, in Singapore for the first time.
The Singapore leader was sworn in as prime minister in May 2024.
Crown Prince Billah was visiting Singapore from Sep. 10 to 14 for the 10th Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders’ Programme.
The programme is a platform where leaders of both countries take turns to visit each other.
Since 2013, the programme has fostered close personal ties between the next generation of leaders from the two countries.
Crown Prince Billah is first in line to succeed his father, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
The absolute monarch, who is 78 years old, is known to have struck a friendship early on with Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in the post-colonial era.
During his visit, Crown Prince Billah was also hosted to meals by President Tharman Thanmugaratnam, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean.
The leaders had discussions on developments in Singapore and Brunei, as well as various global and regional challenges.
During these engagements, Crown Prince Billah reaffirmed the importance of the Singapore-Brunei relationship and both countries’ shared commitment to strengthening it for mutual benefit.
The design for the commemorative stamps jointly issued by Singapore Post and the Brunei Postal Services Department was unveiled to commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Top photos via Lawrence Wong Instagram & MDDI