Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim to visit Singapore on Monday

During the visit, Mr Lee and Mr Anwar will witness the signing of three agreements, MFA said.

The first two are framework agreements on the digital economy and green economy between Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

The third is a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in personal data protection, cybersecurity and digital economy, between Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information and Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital.

“Prime Minister Anwar’s visit to Singapore underscores the close and enduring relationship between Singapore and Malaysia, and our peoples,” MFA said.

Mr Anwar will be accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Zambry Abdul Kadir, Minister of Transport Anthony Loke, Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz and Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil.

Mr Anwar’s visit comes off the back of a four-day visit by Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister to Malaysia last week. 

During his trip, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan met with his counterpart Dr Zambry, who said the pair were “committed” to continuing positive engagements through existing bilateral mechanisms.

They also emphasised resolving issues harmoniously and finding amicable solutions to preserve strong bilateral relations between Malaysia and Singapore.

Dr Balakrishnan told reporters on the sidelines of his visit on Jan 17 that he was confident of “significant progress” in resolving outstanding bilateral issues with Malaysia imminently.

He added that upcoming talks between the leaders of both countries could include long-standing bilateral issues that “we think are ripe for resolution”.

Mr Anwar’s visit to Singapore could pave the way for the resumption of the annual Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat, an important platform for the leaders of both countries to discuss bilateral issues and explore new areas of cooperation.

The latest edition of the retreat, last held in 2019 in Putrajaya, will be hosted by Singapore.