SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke on the phone with his Canadian counterpart, Mr Justin Trudeau, on Tuesday evening (May 11), with both men reaffirming the excellent state of relations between their countries.

They also discussed growing economic ties between Singapore and Canada, noting that bilateral trade and investment links have strengthened since 2018, when the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into force.

The trade agreement has brought benefits for businesses and people in both countries, said PM Lee's press secretary, Ms Chang Li Lin, in a statement on Tuesday.

Apart from Singapore and Canada, the trade bloc includes nine other countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Vietnam.

During Tuesday's call, the leaders also spoke of bilateral cooperation expanding to new areas in recent years. These include climate change, infrastructure and smart cities, and cyber security.

They welcomed the renewal of an agreement on infrastructure and smart cities last October, as well as the upcoming renewal of another agreement on cyber-security cooperation. The infrastructure agreement between Canada and Singapore's Infrastructure Asia will encourage Canadian funds to invest in South-east Asia through Singapore and harness the expertise of Canadian infrastructure companies.

The two prime ministers also discussed new areas of cooperation, such as clean technology, fintech and artificial intelligence, and about ongoing talks on promoting youth exchange.

PM Lee also welcomed Canada's efforts to deepen its economic engagement of Asean and the region.