Singapore, Indonesia vow to strengthen bilateral ties

“Indonesia has always been an attractive destination for Singapore companies”.

Singapore is predominantly ethnic Chinese, with 13.3 percent of the population belonging to the Muslim Malay minority.

They also witnessed the signing of a Strategic Cooperation Agreement between Singapore Business Federation and KADIN Indonesia, the first such agreement between two apex chambers in Asean. “Mustafa also said that he was prepared to carry out ISIS-directed terrorist attacks against Western establishments in Singapore”.

Mr Lee said he and Mr Joko had a good meeting, and discussed how they could strengthen economic cooperation, building on the already-strong ties.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, Mr Widodo was also officially welcomed in a ceremony at the Istana, where he also called on Singapore’s President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

The MOU on Cooperation in Electronic Government was signed in recognition that e-government is an essential element of public service delivery to citizens.

He noted that Singapore has consistently been a top trading partner and investor in Indonesia.

“We will continue to grow and strengthen our close ties with Indonesia”, Mr Lee wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening. Mr Widodo adding that Singapore and Indonesia can be packaged as a tourist destination.

“We need to work together to develop our cooperation between the two governments and the security agencies”, Mr Lee said at the press conference.

Mr Lee and Mr Joko also spoke about the planned Kendal Industrial Park in Semarang, which is Singapore’s first major industrial park investment in Indonesia outside the Riau archipelago.

Similarly, the MOU on Youth and Sports Cooperation aims to increase exchanges between youths and athletes of both countries, in the form of joint training sessions and sharing of ideas and information.

The Indonesian head of state’s visit will coincide with that of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s official visit to Singapore.

The MFA said President Widodo’s State Visit underscores the excellent state of Singapore-Indonesia bilateral relations.

Mr Joko is accompanied by First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo and a high-level ministerial delegation that includes Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sofyan A Djalil and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.