KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hosted a dinner on Monday (Jan 6) night in honour of visiting Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at Rumah Tangsi here.
The two leaders held a closed-door discussion over dinner for nearly two hours, focusing on efforts to enhance bilateral relations between the two nations.
Wong arrived in Malaysia on Monday to begin a two-day official visit in conjunction with the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat scheduled for Tuesday (Jan 7).
This is Wong's second visit to Malaysia since assuming office on May 15, last year. His first visit was on June 11.
On Tuesday, Wong will be accorded an official welcoming ceremony at Perdana Putra Complex, Putrajaya, followed by a delegation meeting of the Leaders’ Retreat with Anwar.
Wisma Putra, in a statement Monday, said that during this visit, both sides are expected to take stock of Malaysia-Singapore bilateral relations and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Both leaders are also scheduled to witness the exchange of the joint agreement on the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), six memoranda of understanding and one letter of intent on education, women and social welfare, climate change, carbon capture and storage, urban development and combatting transnational crimes.
Both countries remain each other’s second-largest trading partners, with bilateral trade amounting to US$78.59bil (RM360.12bil) from January to November 2024, a 6.7% increase over the same period in 2023.
This year also marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. - Bernama
