Singapore PM Lawrence Wong lands in Malaysia for key two-day visit ahead of Leaders’ Retreat

SEPANG, Jan 6 — Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong arrived in Malaysia today to begin his two-day official visit in conjunction with the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat on Tuesday.

He arrived with his delegation at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 at 6.15pm on a commercial flight and then was given a guard of honour by the First Battalion Royal Ranger Regiment under the command of Captain Iskandar Dzulkarnein Doa Hassan at the Bunga Raya Complex here.

This is Wong’s second visit to Malaysia since assuming office on May 15, last year. His first visit was on June 11.

Wong, accompanied by his wife Loo Tze Lui, was then welcomed by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

Wong will be accorded an official welcoming ceremony at Perdana Putra Complex, Putrajaya on Tuesday, followed by a delegation meeting of the Leaders’ Retreat with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Wisma Putra in a statement yesterday said 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 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.

The JS-SEZ aims to bring mutual benefits to businesses and people from both sides, including enhancing the flow of goods and people, improving the ease of doing businesses, and supporting talent development.

As close neighbours and founding members of Asean, Malaysia and Singapore have a long-standing, broad and multifaceted relations across various fields.

Both countries remain each other’s second-largest trading partners, with bilateral trade amounting to RM360.12 billion from January to November 2024, a 6.7 per cent increase over the same period in 2023.

This year also marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. — Bernama