Upon arrival at the luncheon, His Royal Highness was welcomed by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, highlighting the close and enduring friendship between Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
The meeting carried special historical meaning, as it was Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong who jointly agreed to start the Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders’ Programme (YLP) together with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam to groom the next generation of leaders. This milestone decision was made during His Excellency’s visit to
Brunei Darussalam in 2012. Now in its 12th edition, the YLP continues to grow, expanding cooperation into new fields like artificial intelligence, the green economy, and food security under the Agri-Food Tech Zone.
The conversation focused on boosting food security under the Agri-Tech Food Zone. To protect both countries from global supply disruptions, Brunei Darussalam invited Singapore firms to invest in Brunei for chicken and egg farming to cut down on far-away imports such as from Poland and Ukraine. Brunei Darussalam also highlighted a joint aquaculture project to farm disease-resistant Barramundi fish. At the end of the lunch, His Royal Highness praised the long success of the Singapore-Brunei YLP since it first began during His Excellency’s tenure as Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, emphasizing its unique role in connecting nextgeneration leaders to preserve the historic bond originally started by the late Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien III and the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
News courtesy of Prime Minister’s Office
Photo courtesy of Infofoto