Japan foreign minister calls on PM Lee; both reaffirm longstanding relations
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Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Saturday called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as part of his first official visit to Singapore.
During their meeting, PM Lee and Mr Hayashi reaffirmed the longstanding relations and strong cooperation between Singapore and Japan. PM Lee also welcomed Japan's increased engagement with Asean, with the 50th anniversary of Asean-Japan dialogue relations coming up in 2023.
Posting on his Facebook, PM Lee noted that Singapore and Japan celebrated 55 years of diplomatic ties last year, and both countries continue to explore cooperation in many new areas.
"As Japan reopens its borders, I am sure there will be even more exchanges between our countries, which will lead to stronger people-to-people ties," he said.
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said both leaders had a "fruitful exchange of views on a range of regional and international issues".
Mr Hayashi was hosted to lunch by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. In his Facebook post, Dr Balakrishnan said Mr Hayashi has been a good friend of Singapore for over two decades. He said Mr Hayashi was previously a member of the Japan-Singapore Parliamentary Friendship League, and has participated in several Japan-Singapore symposiums over the years.
"Singapore and Japan are close and longstanding partners. Minister Hayashi and I reaffirmed our excellent bilateral relations and agreed to deepen cooperation," Dr Balakrishnan said. "There are opportunities to collaborate in areas including digitalisation, sustainability and energy."
MFA said Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Hayashi noted the good progress in bilateral cooperation and the strong momentum of high-level exchanges between the two countries. "They looked forward to deepening collaboration in areas of mutual interest. The foreign ministers also discussed regional and global developments," it said.
Mr Hayashi was also hosted to tea by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam at Taman Jurong Food Centre on Saturday afternoon. Mr Hayashi left later in the day for Malaysia, where he will meet his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah.