Singapore PM Lawrence Wong accorded official welcome at Perdana Putra

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 7 — Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who arrived yesterday on a two-day official visit to Malaysia, was accorded an official welcoming ceremony at Perdana Putra Complex here today.

Wong was received by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the venue at 9.50 am, where the national anthems of both nations were subsequently played.

He inspected a guard of honour mounted by three officers and 103 members of the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment (Ceremonial) led by Major Arifuddin Mohd Yusuf.

The ceremony was attended by his spouse, Loo Tze Lui, and the Prime Minister’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, other Cabinet members, foreign diplomats, and senior government officials.

Wong signed the guest book before joining Anwar for the 11th Leaders’ Retreat delegation meeting.

The annual Leaders’ Retreat, established in 2007, is the cornerstone of Malaysia-Singapore relations, serving as the highest-level bilateral platform.

Hosted alternately, it is an avenue to strengthen partnerships, set strategic priorities, and explore mutually beneficial initiatives.

The leaders will witness the signing of a joint agreement on the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), as well as six memoranda of understanding and a letter of intent on education, women and social welfare, climate change, carbon capture and storage, urban development and combatting transnational crimes.

The countries remain each other’s second-largest trading partners, with bilateral trade reaching RM360.12 billion (USD78.59 billion) from January to November 2024, reflecting a 6.7 percent increase from the same period in 2023.

This year commemorates 60 years of steadfast diplomatic ties between the two nations. — Bernama