Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Britain's Prince Andrew yesterday, the first of his bilateral meetings in London on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm).

They reaffirmed the longstanding ties between Singapore and Britain, and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation among Commonwealth countries, said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Among the areas of cooperation discussed was the Pitch@Palace initiative, which was founded by Prince Andrew in 2014 to promote innovation by linking entrepreneurs with investors, business partners and mentors. Entrepreneurs from the 53 Commonwealth nations, including Singapore's EnergyNova, took part in a pitch session on Monday at the Chogm sidelines.

The initiative will also be featured as an event at Innovfest Unbound, an innovation festival that Singapore will host in June, said the PMO.

Singapore and Britain enjoy close historical ties and broad-based cooperation. Singapore sees Britain as an important investor and a significant partner in science and technology, defence, education and culture.

Prince Andrew, who holds the title of Duke of York, is the third child of Queen Elizabeth II. He visited Singapore last year for the Commonwealth Science Conference.

PM Lee, who arrived in London yesterday, will hold bilateral meetings with other Commonwealth leaders over the next few days.

He will also attend the Chogm Summit, which runs today and tomorrow. Writing in a Facebook post yesterday, PM Lee said: "Commonwealth nations work together to uphold an open, rules-based multilateral system that allows all our peoples to prosper."