PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin 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 (Oct 18).

PM Lee called on and was hosted to lunch by Crown Prince Mohammed, who is also Saudi Arabia’s Prime Minister, at the 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.

During the call, PM Lee noted that there was keen interest from Singapore companies in the new growth areas under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

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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.

On Wednesday, PM Lee thanked Crown Prince Mohammed for his support to review and upgrade the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Singapore free trade agreement to take into account new areas of economic development.

The agreement, which entered into force in 2013, encourages greater exchanges between the GCC economies and Singapore in areas of mutual interest.

Apart from Saudi Arabia, the six-member GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

PM Lee also expressed appreciation to the Crown Prince for the haj arrangements for Singapore pilgrims during the Covid-19 pandemic, and reiterated Singapore’s request for an increase in the official quota.

He extended an invitation to the Crown Prince to visit Singapore.

Besides bilateral ties, the two leaders discussed global and regional developments, including recent tensions in the Middle East.

Following the meeting, PM Lee and his delegation also attended a briefing on Vision 2030 organised by the Saudi strategic management office, the PMO spokesperson said.

She added that PM Lee noted that there are opportunities for Singapore to contribute both from the private sector and also at the government to government level.

PM Lee and his delegation also attended the Saudi-Singapore Roundtable Meeting hosted by Minister of Investment Khalid Al Falih, where senior representatives from various established Saudi companies shared their interest in growing collaboration with Singapore in various sectors. These include agriculture, digital economy and innovation, financial services, energy and petrochemical, as well as transport and logistics.

PM Lee welcomed Saudi companies to use Singapore as a gateway to explore business opportunities in Asia, the PMO spokesperson added.

Several memorandums of understanding and agreements between the two countries, in the areas of human capital and leadership development, technical and vocational education and training, fintech cooperation, energy cooperation and logistics, will be signed during the visit.

PM Lee’s meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed comes ahead of the inaugural Asean-GCC summit on Friday, when leaders from the two blocs are expected to discuss overlapping interests in energy, food, security, digital infrastructure and technology transfers.

Energy is expected to be a key topic as Asean countries look to the GCC to mitigate higher oil prices.

Analysts also expect the current tensions in the Middle East to be raised during the summit. THE STRAITS TIMES