Annual Leaders’ Retreat set for next 2 days

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak will be having their annual Leaders’ Retreat tomorrow and the day after (May 4 to 5), with the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High-Speed Rail project expected to be high on the agenda.

Mr Lee and his wife Ho Ching will host a private dinner for Mr Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor tomorrow evening. Bilateral discussions will take place between the Prime Ministers and their delegations on May 5. After the retreat, Mr Najib will deliver a keynote address at the Economic Society of Singapore’s annual dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel, where Mr Lee will also be in attendance.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today that Mr Najib will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising several Malaysian Cabinet Ministers and senior officials. The Singapore delegation includes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean and several Cabinet Ministers.

At the official opening of the Chancery of the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur last week, Mr Lee said the two leaders will be discussing new areas of cooperation, one of which is the high-speed rail. “If we can get the High-Speed Rail going and running, this will be a very important project which will foster closer ties between our people,” he said.