Serbian Prime Minister calls on President Halimah and Acting PM Teo Chee Hean

SINGAPORE - Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, who is in Singapore to attend the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, called on President Halimah Yacob at the Istana on Wednesday.

She also met Acting Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was in Bali for the Group of 20 (G-20) Leaders’ Summit.

During their meeting, both sides reaffirmed the friendly relations between Singapore and Serbia, as well as the countries’ close cooperation in international forums as fellow members of the Forum of Small States and Non-Aligned Movement.

The former was established by Singapore in 1992 and comprises 108 countries, working to safeguard the interests of small states, while the latter is a forum made up of 120 countries that opted for neutrality instead of being swept up by various power blocs that sprang up in the midst of the Cold War.

In a Facebook post, Madam Halimah said they discussed both regional and global issues of mutual interest, adding that she shared Singapore’s experience in urban planning and the development of the education system.

“Singapore and Serbia can do more together in emerging areas of interest like digitalisation and e-government. We look forward to expanding Singapore-Serbia cooperation,” she said.

Mr Teo said on Facebook that they also discussed potential collaborations in the fields of digitalisation, biotechnology and natural resource management, and exchanged views on geopolitical issues and the role that small states play in the international order.