Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met academics and business leaders in Sydney as part of his three-day visit to Australia from Oct 16 to 18. PM Lee and Mrs Lee were received by Australian Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman and Singapore Deputy High Commissioner to Australia Harold Lee. This is PM Lee’s first trip to Australia since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong and government officials. The business luncheon was organised by the Asia Society Australia, and the roundtable discussion was with senior representatives and research fellows from the Lowy Institute. During his lunch with business leaders, he welcomed Australian businesses in using the strong bilateral trade and economic links to build more partnerships with Singapore, particularly in the digital and green economies.
Besides the other closed-door engagements, PM Lee is scheduled to attend the 7th Singapore-Australia Leaders’ Meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra. The the Singapore-Australia Green Economy agreement is described as a first-of-its-kind in the world combining trade, economic and environmental objectives, and is expected to be among the key issues at the upcoming annual leaders’ meeting.
