PM Lee and PM Kishida reaffirm excellent ties between Singapore and Japan

SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Japanese counterpart, Mr Fumio Kishida, reaffirmed the longstanding and excellent relations between the Republic and Japan, as they met in Singapore on Friday.

Mr Kishida was in transit on his way back to Japan after a four-country Africa trip, and was hosted to lunch by PM Lee.

After the meeting, PM Lee said in a post on Facebook: “Singapore has excellent ties with Japan. Beyond our strong economic and people-to-people links, we are also cooperating on issues such as digitalisation, energy and sustainability.

“PM Kishida and I had a good discussion on further deepening cooperation in areas of mutual interest, as well as on key regional and international developments.”

When they met, the two leaders discussed expanding and deepening cooperation in areas such as the economy, digitalisation, energy and sustainability, said the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Friday.

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa), in a separate statement, said Mr Kishida also expressed his wish to promote cooperation in areas such as start-ups and supply chain resilience.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international developments and emphasised the importance of upholding a rules-based global order and the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, added the MFA.

With Asean and Japan marking 50 years of ties this year, PM Lee and Mr Kishida welcomed the commemoration of Asean-Japan Dialogue Relations, including the Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit planned by Tokyo for December.

Mr Kishida, who was in Singapore for a two-day visit in June last year, had a new orchid hybrid named in his honour. On Friday, he told PM Lee that the plant, now at the Hiroshima Botanical Garden, is blooming, said Japan’s Mofa.

Mr Kishida left Singapore on Friday.