Lawrence Wong to make first official visit to Brunei as Deputy Prime Minister

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit Brunei Darussalam from Wednesday (Jan 18) to Thursday.

This is his first official visit to the country in his current capacity, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Wednesday.

Mr Wong will have audiences with Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, as well as Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Al-Muhtadee Billah.

He will also meet Prince Abdul Mateen, as well as special adviser to the Sultan and Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Awang Isa, and Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Amin Liew.

Additionally, Mr Wong will meet members of the Singaporean community in Brunei, the PMO said.

Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister, will be accompanied on his trip by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan as well as officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Communications and Information.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was in Singapore during a two-day state visit in August. Both countries signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and reaffirmed their "special and longstanding relationship". 

Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah also officially visited Singapore in August, leading a delegation to the 8th Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders’ Programme (YLP) – a key platform for young Singaporean and Bruneian leaders to interact and build ties with one another.