SINGAPORE - Mr Lawrence Wong rounded up his first official visit to Brunei as Deputy Prime Minister with meetings with Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and other government officials to reaffirm the two countries’ bilateral ties.

In a Facebook post on Thursday night, DPM Wong said that Singapore and Brunei enjoy a unique and longstanding relationship that predates both countries’ independence.

He said: “As the two smallest members of Asean, we work closely together to support one another, and strengthen our resilience in an uncertain world. That mutual support enabled us to weather the challenges of Covid-19 over the past three years.

“This is why I made Brunei my first overseas work trip of 2023 – to reaffirm the importance of this relationship and to strengthen cooperation in new areas like education, civil service work attachments, supply chain resilience and the green economy.”

During his visit, which started on Wednesday, DPM Wong also met Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah; Special Adviser to the Sultan and Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Isa Ibrahim; and Brunei’s Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah.

“I look forward to further exchanges with Brunei, and to strengthening our partnership for many more generations to come,” added DPM Wong in his post.

His official visit comes after Sultan Bolkiah visited Singapore in August 2022, his fifth state visit here.

During that visit, four new agreements were signed between the two countries in the areas of energy, the green economy, and food and medical supply resilience.

In July 2022, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, Madam Ho Ching, were in Bandar Seri Begawan to receive royal honours and attend the Sultan’s 76th birthday.