Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong played host to Indonesia's President Joko Widodo for this year's Leaders' Retreat yesterday, saying he looked forward to deepening ties even further between their countries as Mr Joko begins his second term.

They recognised the bilateral relationship had strengthened substantially over Mr Joko's first five-year term, and was a solid foundation on which to advance mutually beneficial cooperation in a range of areas.

They agreed to boost tie-ups in the digital economy, industrial parks, tourism and infrastructure, and strengthen the flow of trade and investments. They also agreed to renew a US$10 billion (S$13.8 billion) bilateral financial arrangement between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank Indonesia, sealed at last year's Leaders' Retreat, to help support monetary and financial stability in the region.

Noting growing security cooperation, they said their good working relationship and strong ties enabled both sides to discuss longstanding issues such as airspace management and military training in an open, constructive manner - and welcomed the agreed framework for discussion of these items.

After their delegation meeting, both leaders witnessed the signing of two memorandums of understanding - on electronic data exchange to facilitate trade, and on archives cooperation - before speaking to reporters and deepening ties over dinner at the Istana.

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