SINGAPORE - Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister on Wednesday (Aug 28) met Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, and the leaders discussed ways to deepen relations across various areas, including financial cooperation and trade linkages.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Thani is on an official two-day visit to Singapore at the invitation of Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar's Foreign Minister, co-chaired the Second Implementation Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) meeting with Dr Balakrishnan, said MFA.

The IMM is a platform for the countries to facilitate mutually beneficial bilateral partnerships.

At the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed and Dr Balakrishnan welcomed the good progress made since the inaugural IMM meeting in April 2018, and reaffirmed its importance, MFA said.

Sheikh Mohammed and Dr Balakrishnan also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Qatar Free Zones Authority and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, as well as an agreement between Megawatts Engineering Services and DServ to establish a limited liability company.

Dr Balakrishnan hosted lunch for Sheikh Mohammed, during which the two leaders discussed developments in Asia and the Middle East, and explored how both sides could pursue closer cooperation in various sectors, MFA said.

Sheikh Mohammed called on Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean in the afternoon.

They had a wide-ranging discussion on regional and international developments, and affirmed their continued support for the IMM platform, MFA said.

Sheikh Mohammed also called on President Halimah Yacob, and they reaffirmed the warm and friendly relations between Singapore and Qatar, MFA added.

During his visit, Sheikh Mohammed, who concurrently chairs the board of directors at the Qatar Investment Authority, visited Temasek Holdings.

He left Singapore on Wednesday night.