SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make a three-day working visit to Australia from Sunday (Oct 16), during which he will meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Mr Lee will visit Canberra and Sydney from Oct 16 to 18 for the seventh Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting, said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Saturday.
The meeting, established under the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, is a key platform for both prime ministers to discuss bilateral cooperation and exchange views on regional and global developments, said PMO in its statement.
The Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was established in 2015.
In Canberra, Mr Albanese will host Mr Lee to dinner at his official residence.
Both prime ministers will also have a delegation meeting, which will be followed by a joint press conference.
In Sydney, Mr Lee will meet senior business leaders and academics, said PMO.
In 2021, then-Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited Singapore in June for the sixth Leaders’ Meeting. Mr Lee last visited Australia in 2018 for the third iteration of the meeting.
Mr Albanese was sworn in as Australia’s prime minister after the country’s new Labor government came into power in May 2022.
Mr Lee will be accompanied on the trip by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, as well as Members of Parliament Foo Mee Har and Saktiandi Supaat.
In his absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will be Acting Prime Minister.