Singapore PM commits to strengthening cooperation with Indonesia in three areas

Jakarta - Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has affirmed his commitment to strengthening cooperation with Indonesia, particularly in the fields of energy, human resource development, and defence institutional relations, during the annual Indonesia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.

Lawrence stated that he and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto agreed to expand cooperation to create more opportunities for the people of both countries, strengthen resilience, and enhance the competitiveness of Indonesia and Singapore.

"The commitment to enhance cooperation is reflected in the various agreements and memoranda of understanding we signed today," Lawrence said in a joint statement.

According to Lawrence, Singapore sees great potential in Indonesia for the development of new and renewable energy. Therefore, both countries will expand collaboration, including through a solar energy project in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, and the implementation of cross-border electricity trading.

Beyond the energy sector, the two leaders also agreed to strengthen people-to-people ties, including through a student exchange programme between Singapore and students of Sekolah Garuda.

"Finally, President Prabowo and I also agreed to strengthen institutional relations between our two countries. In particular, the good relationship between the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) maintains the trust between our two countries," he said.

President Prabowo earlier received Lawrence’s visit at Merdeka Palace for the annual Indonesia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat. During the meeting, Indonesia and Singapore agreed on 28 cooperation documents, consisting of 18 government-to-government agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs), as well as eight business-to-business agreements.