His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State, and Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called separately on Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Teo Chee Hean, Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K Shanmugam and Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan today.
Dr Al Jaber and DPM Teo Chee Hean agreed that bilateral relations between the UAE and Singapore were strong. As countries with small populations, there were several areas of common interest where both countries could collaborate. These included energy efficiency, climate change and urban planning. Dr Al Jaber and DPM Teo also exchanged views on developments in the Middle East.
Dr Al Jaber and ESM Goh Chok Tong reaffirmed the excellent relations between the UAE and Singapore. They welcomed the growing level of cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Singapore in various areas such as water management. ESM and Dr Al Jaber also had a good discussion on regional developments in the Middle East.
During his meeting with Minister Shanmugam, Dr Al Jaber agreed that there was scope to expand cooperation between Singapore and the UAE in areas such as food security and renewable energy. Welcoming Dr Al Jaber to Singapore as the inaugural S R Nathan Fellow, Minister Shanmugam said that Singapore valued our close relationship with the UAE.
Dr Al Jaber also met Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli yesterday.
Dr Al Jaber is visiting Singapore under the S R Nathan Fellowship, which was launched by Minister Shanmugam and former President S R Nathan at the Commemorative Event for the 20th Anniversary of the Singapore Cooperation Programme in November 2012. The Fellowship is a new high-level programme to invite foreign leaders and opinion-shapers to Singapore to exchange ideas, experiences and perspectives on current and long-term challenges with Singapore leaders and senior government officials. This will promote mutual understanding and cooperation between our countries. The Fellowship is named after former President Nathan to honour his significant contributions to Singapore's foreign policy during his long tenure with MFA and during his two-term presidency.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
27 AUGUST 2013