Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Salman have agreed to step up relations between the two countries in areas such as trade and investment and green energy.
The two leaders discussed elevating bilateral cooperation in these fields, as well as the digital economy and public sector development, when they met on Wednesday.
PM Lee called on and was hosted to lunch by Crown Prince Mohammed, who is also Saudi Arabia’s Prime Minister, at Al Yamamah Palace.
The two leaders reaffirmed the excellent bilateral relations between their countries, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement after the meeting.
They also welcomed the continued exchange of study visits and the sharing of best practices, MFA added.
PM Lee noted that there was keen interest from Singapore companies in new growth areas under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
He also welcomed more Saudi companies to use Singapore as the gateway to South-east Asia.
Vision 2030 is an ambitious brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed to reduce his country’s dependence on oil as the climate crisis pushes nations towards sustainable development.
The grand plan, which was unveiled in April 2016, is designed to help diversify and modernise the Saudi economy.
Both leaders also welcomed the multifaceted cooperation under the Saudi-Singapore Joint Committee, which held its third meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday, in areas such as connectivity, digital economy and innovation, and energy and industry.
The Straits Times
