Meetings with Singapore leaders covered bilateral cooperation, ASEAN, regional developments, defence and business opportunities.
His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, visited Singapore from 21 to 23 October 2026 for an introductory visit focused on bilateral cooperation and regional developments. During the visit, he met Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, and other senior leaders to discuss areas of mutual interest and the longstanding relationship between the two countries.
Prince ‘Abdul Mateen called on President Tharman and Prime Minister Wong and was hosted to lunch by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He also met Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu.
During their discussions, Prince ‘Abdul Mateen and Singapore’s leaders reaffirmed the special and longstanding relationship between Singapore and Brunei, underpinned by close ties between their leaders and peoples. They explored ways to further develop bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest and exchanged views on ASEAN, regional affairs and international developments.
As part of his programme, Prince ‘Abdul Mateen attended an industry roundtable with Singapore companies. Participants exchanged perspectives on business and investment opportunities in both countries, reflecting the shared interest in expanding commercial engagement between Singapore and Brunei.
The Brunei Foreign Affairs Minister also visited the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, where he engaged think tankers on regional and international developments. He received a briefing from Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information on the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) strategy.
His visit to the Special Operations Task Force highlighted the close defence ties between Singapore and Brunei, which have continued to develop through high-level exchanges and bilateral engagement.
The introductory visit followed a series of recent engagements between the two countries. These included Prime Minister Wong’s visit to Brunei in October 2026 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of bilateral defence relations, the visit by His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah for the 12th Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders’ Programme, and Senior Minister Lee’s visit to Brunei in July 2026 for the 80th birthday celebrations of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.
Source: MFA
