PM Lee, President Widodo to meet for leaders' retreat in mid-2016

JAKARTA: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo are expected to meet for a leaders' retreat in the middle of this year in Indonesia, said Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

This will be the second stand-alone bilateral meeting for both leaders and it marks 50 years of relations between the two countries. They first met during Mr Widodo's introductory visit last year.

Dr Balakrishnan said the exact date and venue of the leaders' retreat has not been confirmed. He also stressed that the relationship between Singapore and Indonesia is good and that there are many opportunities to enhance it.

BEST NOT TO ALLOW DIFFERENCES TO SLOW US DOWN: BALAKRISHNAN

Speaking to reporters from Singapore at the end of his two-day visit to Jakarta on Wednesday (Jan 13), Dr Balakrishnan said like all close-standing relationships, there may be problems from time to time. 

"There will always be issues, we will always do our best to resolve those that can, sometimes they may take a bit longer, but ... the more important point (is that) we will try our best not to allow differences to slow us down, to impede the momentum for progress, because we actually have a very full agenda, many things to do together," he said.

This was Dr Balakrishnan's introductory visit to Indonesia as Singapore's Foreign Minister. During his visit to the capital, Dr Balakrishnan met with President Widodo, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, his counterpart Retno Marsudi, and Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara.

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan meeting Indonesian President Joko Widodo. (Photo: AFP/Adek Berry)

Dr Balakrishnan said he had a good visit and had extensive discussions on economic partnerships between Singapore and Indonesia. 

He added that Indonesia is contemplating making significant changes in the regulatory framework for Batam, Bintan and Karimun, and that there were also discussions on how to improve the labour relations in the economic zone. The Indonesian government is expected to make announcements on the regulatory review in one to two weeks, he said.

"What our investors or what our private sector have told us is they need certainty," said Dr Balakrishnan. "They need to know what the rules are, they need a sense that there is a level playing field, they are not being disadvantaged, rules are not going to be chopped and changed down the road. When there is certainty, and if it makes business sense, I think investments will flow."

Dr Balakrishnan also spoke with Indonesian leaders on the haze issue. He said the discussions were positive and they assured him no efforts will be spared to improve the situation. Dr Balakrishnan said the Indonesians seemed fairly confident that things should improve.

​COLLABORATION BETWEEN COUNTRIES WORKING

On security, Dr Balakrishnan said the calm situation in the region has shown the effectiveness of governments working closely together.

"We've just had Christmas and the New Year and in fact, agencies in Indonesia, Malaysia and in Singapore were on alert, because usually these holiday seasons are the time when you anticipate such attacks," he said. "It calls for collaboration, for exchange of information, effective enforcement on the ground. Fortunately that appears to be working."

He also spoke about Tuesday's bombing in Istanbul, expressing deep regret and stressing the importance of governments sharing information and working collectively across boundaries.

Source: PM Lee, President Widodo to meet for leaders' retreat in mid-2016