PM Lee Hsien Loong called on and was hosted to lunch by Crown Prince and Prime Minister His Royal Highness Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Al Yamamah Palace. PM Lee and Crown Prince Mohammed reaffirmed the excellent bilateral relations. They agreed to elevate bilateral relations in areas such as trade and investment, green energy, digital economy, and public sector development. Both leaders welcomed the continued exchange of study visits and the sharing of best practices.
PM Lee and Crown Prince Mohammed welcomed the multifaceted cooperation under the Saudi-Singapore Joint Committee (SSJC), which held its third meeting in Riyadh on 17 October 2023, in areas such as connectivity, digital economy and innovation, and energy and industry. PM Lee noted the keen interest by Singapore companies in the new growth areas under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and welcomed more Saudi companies to use Singapore as the gateway to Southeast Asia.
PM Lee thanked Crown Prince Mohammed for Saudi Arabia’s support to review and upgrade the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Singapore Free Trade Agreement to take into account new areas of economic development. PM Lee expressed appreciation to Crown Prince Mohammed for the Haj arrangements for Singapore pilgrims during the COVID-19 pandemic and reiterated Singapore’s request for an increase in the official quota. PM Lee reiterated the invitation for Crown Prince Mohammed to make an Official Visit to Singapore and looked forward to welcoming him at a mutually convenient time.
PM Lee and Crown Prince Mohammed also discussed global and regional developments including recent tensions in the Middle East.
Several MOUs and agreements in the areas of human capital and leadership development, technical and vocational education and training, fintech cooperation, energy cooperation and logistics will be signed on the sidelines of the visit. The list of MOUs and agreements is at Annex.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
18 OCTOBER 2023
Annex
MOU on Cooperation in Human Capital and Leadership Development
MOU in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training
FinTech Cooperation Agreement
Energy Cooperation Roadmap
Agreement to Establish an Integrated Logistics Zone