KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — The Parliament of Malaysia and the Parliament of Singapore today reached a mutual agreement to establish closer cooperation as ASEAN partners.
Both legislative institutions will also work hand in hand to forge a future collaboration in youth development and spur inclusive and sustainable formulation of policies towards achieving the goals of building a prosperous ASEAN community at the national and regional levels.
The Malaysian Parliament in a statement said the agenda was among the main thrusts of deliberation between Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul and his counterpart Seah Kian Peng in the Parliament of Singapore.
The meeting between the two heads of legislation was conducted within the framework of Johari’s official visit as the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat – among the multitude of the Parliament of Malaysia’s initiatives to foster closer collaboration between ASEAN parliaments.
“During the courtesy visit, Johari and Seah also exchanged views on various bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest including food security, artificial intelligence and renewable energy,” the statement read.
It said the discussion also explored the increased potential in boosting the Malaysia-Singapore economy, investment and trade to the ASEAN market, by way of striking new collaborations and strategic partnerships.
Until the first half of 2023, Singapore is Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner after China with a trade volume of RM181.3 billion (US$40.6 billion) which increased 6.1 per cent from the RM170.8 billion (US$56.5 billion) recorded in the same period in 2022.
