Singapore and Malaysian Prime Ministers to hold Leaders’ Retreat

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak will hold their Leaders’ Retreat, a key bilateral platform to drive relations forward, on 18 and 19 February.

It is the fourth Leaders’ Retreat session for both prime ministers.

The two leaders last met in Putrajaya in January 2012, and one key issue that was discussed then was expanding cooperation through joint projects between the two countries.

Mr Najib is accompanied by a high—level delegation, comprising several Cabinet ministers and senior officials.

Among those in the Singapore delegation are Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and several Cabinet ministers

On Monday, Mr Lee and his wife hosted a private dinner for the visitors.

On Tuesday morning, the prime ministers and their delegations will hold discussions.

In the afternoon, the two leaders will visit sites of joint ventures by Temasek Holdings and Khazanah Nasional, in Singapore and in Iskandar Malaysia.

In Singapore, they will unveil the Marina One project in Marina Bay and receive an update on the DUO project in Ophir—Rochor, which are mixed use developments.

They will then travel to Iskandar Malaysia to unveil the Urban Wellness and Resort Wellness projects in Medini, as well as for the ground—breaking of the Urban Wellness project.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Government Parliamentary Committee Chair for Defence and Foreign Affairs, attributes several reasons for the growing ties between Singapore and Malaysia

Dr Lim said: "It is the on—going understanding that Singapore and Malaysia do not exist alone. We are facing greater competition from other countries economically, (and) within ASEAN.

"Singapore and Malaysia play an important role, and if they cooperate together they can in fact move the whole of ASEAN forward. The Iskandar project is another catalyst to bring the two countries together because we have common interests. It is one project that will benefit both countries for the people, as well as the country."

A major milestone in bilateral ties was reached in May 2010 when both leaders reached an understanding on moving forward the Points of Agreement.

— CNA/ir/de