PUTRAJAYA – Malaysias Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to visit Singapore at the end of this month, Malaysias Foreign Minister Zambry Kadir said in a statement on Tuesday.
It will be Datuk Seri Anwars first visit to Singapore as prime minister, since he assumed the post on Nov 24 last year.
It will be PM Anwars second state visit, after his first official visit as prime minister to Indonesia on Jan 8 and 9.
There is also a proposal for Singapore President Halimah Yacob to make a state visit to Malaysia in March, Datuk Seri Zambry added in the statement that was issued following his meeting in Putrajaya with visiting Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.
Dr Balakrishnan is on a three-day visit to Malaysia that ends on Wednesday.
This was our first official meeting since I took office as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 2 December 2022, Mr Zambry said.
During the meeting, we both reaffirmed the excellent and longstanding relations between Malaysia and Singapore. As close neighbours and members of Asean and the Asia Pacific, we highlighted the importance of working together to strengthening bilateral cooperation and exploring win-win collaboration, including in resolving outstanding issues, he added.
Mr Zambry said the two leaders are committed to continue positive engagements through the existing bilateral mechanisms and emphasised on resolving issues harmoniously and finding amicable solutions to preserve the strong Malaysia-Singapore bilateral relations. Embed Facebook Facebook
Glad to be back in KL after my visit in May last year. Honoured to have an audience with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong,…Posted by Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday, January 16, 2023 The Malaysian minister said they also touched on the Official Visit by PM Anwar to Singapore scheduled to be held by end of this month, as well as the proposed State Visit by President Halimah Yacob to Malaysia in March 2023.
This meeting underscores the longstanding relations and the ongoing efforts to strengthen existing close ties between Malaysia and Singapore, under the new Unity Government, the statement said.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke with Mr Anwar on the phone a day after he was sworn in, and invited the leader to visit the Republic soon.
I look forward to working with him and the new government to further strengthen our bilateral relationship, PMLeehad said in a Facebook post. Embed Facebook Facebook
Spoke to Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim today to congratulate him on being sworn in as Malaysias 10th Prime Minister. I…Posted by Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday, November 24, 2022 MrLeeadded that he has known MrAnwarfor several decades and had last met him in 2018, when he delivered a lecture at the Singapore Summit on the importance of bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia.
Singapore and Malaysia are close partners. Our countries share a longstanding friendship, underpinned by strong historical, cultural, and interpersonal ties. There is more that we can do to enhance our bilateral relationship for mutual benefit, saidPMLee in the Facebook post.
Replying toPMLeeon social media, MrAnwaron Nov 25 afternoon thanked him for the phone call and warm wishes. Embed Twitter Tweet URL MrAnwarsaid in a tweet: As close neighbours and partners in Asean, Malaysia and Singapore also share many commonalities, intertwined history and very close and active people-to-people connections.
I look forward to meeting you at the earliest opportunity and working together to further elevate Malaysia-Singapore bilateral relations.
Dr Balakrisnan was granted an audience with Malaysias King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah on Monday. He also called on PMAnwar and several other Malaysian Cabinet ministers. More On This Topic PM Lee speaks to Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, invites him to visit Spore soon JB-S'pore RTS Link on track to be operational by end-2026