King returns home after Singapore visit

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah returned home on Friday after a visit to Singapore, where His Majesty participated in the International Conference on Cohesive Societies and delivered the keynote address at its opening.

During the visit, King Abdullah held talks with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on bilateral ties and ways to expand cooperation in all areas, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty also attended part of the Jordan-Singapore Business Forum, and visited the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

In a keynote address delivered at the conference, King Abdullah stressed the need to resolve conflicts, especially the core crisis of the region, the long denial of Palestinian statehood.

King Abdullah, President Halimah and Prime Minister Lee, in the two meetings held at Istana Palace, agreed to bolster cooperation in sectors such as investment, trade, military-related, education and water.

The need to build on the agreements signed by the two countries was also stressed, in addition to the importance of the Jordan-Singapore Business Forum to discuss investment opportunities and economic and commercial partnerships.

Talks covered investment opportunities in Jordan, and the importance of encouraging the private sectors in both countries to build partnerships for joint projects, in addition to the need to capitalise on the free trade agreement between the Kingdom and Singapore to bolster economic, investment and trade cooperation, according to the statement.

On the sidelines of the King’s visit, Jordan and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on political consultations, and another MoU on water resource management.

Meanwhile, the two-day forum focused on exploring opportunities to boost economic cooperation between Jordan and Singapore in trade, investment, industry, tourism, telecommunications, information technology, agriculture and energy.