SINGAPORE - President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have written to Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr, to congratulate him on winning the Philippine presidential elections.

Mr Marcos won the May 9 Philippine polls by a landslide.

The letters by the two leaders were released by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday (May 18).

Madam Halimah, in her letter dated Saturday, said Singapore and the Philippines "share a warm and longstanding relationship, underpinned by strong economic cooperation and robust people-to-people ties".

"I recall fondly the warm and gracious hospitality extended to me by the Filipino people during my state visit to the Philippines in September 2019. I look forward to working with you to strengthen the friendship between our two countries," she added.

She invited the President-elect to make a state visit to Singapore, adding: " I wish you every success in steering the Philippines to greater heights."

In his letter to Mr Marcos, PM Lee said the electoral victory showed "the people's strong support in your leadership and vision for the country".

"The partnership between Singapore and the Republic of the Philippines is deep and longstanding, with close cooperation across many domains, including labour, trade and defence.

"As fellow founding members of Asean, we share a similar outlook on key regional and global developments, and work closely to promote regional peace and prosperity. I look forward to continuing our close cooperation for the benefit of our countries, peoples and the region."

Mr Lee said he is looking forward to meeting the President-elect soon.