Senior Minister of State (SMS), Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman visited Jambi City, Jambi Province from 10 to 11 February 2020, and Pekanbaru, Riau Province from 12 to 13 February 2020. The visit is part of Singapore’s efforts to strengthen engagement and cooperation with Indonesia’s regions.
In Jambi City, SMS Maliki met Jambi Governor Fachrori Umar and Jambi City Mayor Syarif Fasha. They reaffirmed the growing ties between Singapore and Jambi, and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in areas such as human resource development, tourism, and trade and investment. SMS Maliki reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment to contribute to Jambi’s development, and welcomed Jambi officials to continue participating in our Singapore Cooperation Programme. They also exchanged views on municipal governance, skills training, tourism promotion, and smart city development.
SMS Maliki also met members of the Jambi Provincial Legislative Council, including Deputy Speakers Burhanuddin and Rocky Candra. They discussed developments in Jambi and potential areas of economic and technical cooperation. SMS Maliki held a dialogue with faculty members and students of the Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin State Islamic University, during which he spoke about Singapore’s education system, inter-faith cohesion, and opportunities for academic exchanges. SMS Maliki wrapped up his visit to Jambi City by meeting local business leaders to discuss ways in which the business communities of both sides can work together to explore trade and investment opportunities.
In Pekanbaru, SMS Maliki met Riau Governor Syamsuar and Vice Mayor Ayat Cahyadi. They exchanged views on domestic developments, and reaffirmed their commitment to do more together in mutually-beneficially areas, such as tackling environmental challenges, promoting tourism and people-to-people exchanges, and exploring trade and investment opportunities. SMS Maliki also encouraged Riau officials to continue making study visits to Singapore under our Singapore Cooperation Programme to exchange views and share best practices on issues of mutual interest.
SMS Maliki wrapped up his visit to Pekanbaru with an exchange of views with leaders of the local chapters of Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama on domestic developments, understanding and managing radicalism, promoting religious tolerance and cohesion, and strengthening educational cooperation between Singapore and Riau.
SMS Maliki returns to Singapore today.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
13 February 2020