MFA Press Statement: Meeting between Minister For Foreign Affairs George Yeo and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov

Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo is on an official visit to the Russian Federation, 22-24 March 2009. On 24 March, Minister Yeo called on and was hosted to lunch by his counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov.

Both Ministers underscored the warm and growing bilateral relations between the two countries. Minister Yeo said that he looked forward to the bilateral visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Singapore in November 2009, in conjunction with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. Minister Yeo and Minister Lavrov also discussed strengthening bilateral relations in fields such as business, science and technology and culture. In their discussions on APEC, Minister Yeo reaffirmed Singapore's focus, as APEC Chair, on keeping the Asia-Pacific region open to trade and investment. Both Ministers also had a useful exchange on regional and international issues such as developments in Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as regional groupings such as ASEAN, the ARF, ASEM and the EAS.

During the course of his visit, Minister Yeo called on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. He also had meetings with prominent Russian parliamentarians, businessmen and academics, as well as members of the Singapore community based in Moscow.

Minister Yeo leaves for his working visit to the United Kingdom this evening.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
24 MARCH 2009