KUALA LUMPUR - Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan called on Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and had a meeting with Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah in the administrative capital of Putrajaya on Wednesday (May 18).

Datuk Seri Ismail and Dr Balakrishnan welcomed the full reopening of the land and air borders between their two countries, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

They also noted Singapore and Malaysia's mutual support for each other during the Covid-19 pandemic, the statement added.

The ministry also said Dr Balakrishnan and Datuk Seri Saifuddin took stock of ongoing bilateral cooperation, and agreed that it had continued apace even amid the pandemic and travel restrictions.

The ministers discussed how both sides could continue to work together and support each other in their post-pandemic economic recovery, including in tourism and closer people-to-people interaction.

After two years of restrictions due to Covid-19, both countries allowed fully vaccinated persons to travel by land between Singapore and Malaysia from April 1 without the need to undergo quarantine or testing. Both countries have since also eased requirements for fully vaccinated travellers arriving by air.

Dr Balakrishnan had also met political and corporate leaders in Malaysia on Tuesday - the first day of his three-day visit to the country aimed at renewing and strengthening bilateral ties.

He met Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, secretary-general of the opposition Democratic Action Party Anthony Loke, Parti Keadilan Rakyat lawmaker Nurul Izzah Anwar, and mobile service provider Maxis' chairman Mokhzani Mahathir.

Dr Balakrishnan will also have an audience with Sultan Nazrin Shah, the deputy king of Malaysia and the Sultan of Perak.