S'pore PM to meet Susilo in Bali

S'pore PM to meet Susilo in Bali

SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday he would go ahead with a meeting in Bali with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono despite the deadly weekend attack on the resort island.

Their scheduled two-day "retreat" starting on Monday will cover regional issues and bilateral relations, a statement from the prime minister's office said.

"We have to carry on with the retreat. I have been in touch with Yudhoyono's people, staff, and they agree we have to continue," national broadcaster Channel News Asia's website quoted Lee as saying.

"To change our plans and not to meet is really to concede (to terrorists). We will go and continue with the retreat and take the necessary precautions and I am looking forward to meeting the president," the prime minister added.

Lee will be accompanied by his wife Ho Ching, who is the chief executive of state-linked investment firm Temasek Holdings, Cabinet ministers and other senior officials.

Singapore is one of the biggest foreign investors in Indonesia and relations have improved markedly in recent years. -- AFP