RIYADH — Singapore's President Halima Yaqoub extended her country's support for the transformation plans under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and hailed the Kingdom's bold initiatives for the empowerment of women. She expressed hope that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman would visit Singapore soon. In an interview with the magazine of the Saudi Embassy in Singapore, Halima emphasized the commitment of the two countries to strengthen and deepen their bilateral relations and continue to support and facilitate cooperation between the people and business sectors of the two countries. She noted that her first state visit to the Kingdom in November 2019, in response to an invitation from King Salman, was a milestone that shed light on the warm, long, and diverse relations between the two countries. "It was also a strong indication of our commitment to further bolstering bilateral relations," she said. Halima stated that during the visit, she had an excellent exchange of ideas with King Salman on how to deepen bilateral cooperation, including two concrete proposals calling for the establishment of a joint committee at the ministerial level for economic cooperation, and to revitalize the Saudi Singapore Business Council. She explained that the Kingdom and Singapore have enjoyed regular exchanges between the two governments since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1977, and frequent exchanges at the people-to-people level even before that date. Considering that her visit to the Kingdom last year was an important milestone to revive what has been accomplished so far, she expressed confidence that more reciprocal visits will follow over the coming years, especially since the international community is working together to combat COVID-19. Halima expressed her happiness at the progress made at the Saudi Singapore Joint Committee, which was proposed by King Salman during their joint meeting, noting that business associations in her country look forward to revitalizing the Saudi Singapore Business Council as soon as the situation permits. She stressed that the governments of the two countries will continue to support and facilitate cooperation between the people and their companies, especially at a time when they overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. She emphasized that apart from the transport and logistics sector, Singapore companies are also keen to explore more opportunities in the Kingdom, in areas such as tourism, digital solutions, education, and oil and gas sectors, in addition to looking forward to more such partnerships in the future. The president welcomed Saudi companies interested in establishing their business in Singapore to communicate with the Economic Development Board in Singapore and Enterprise Singapore, which has an office in Riyadh, that can put companies in contact with the relevant agencies to start the process of establishing businesses. Halima said that Singapore had the honor to receive an invitation for her to attend the G20 summit in Riyadh, which was held virtually due to the pandemic. She thanked King Salman for the invitation, stressing that just as Singapore did in the previous G20 summits to which she was invited, she worked closely with the Kingdom to achieve a successful outcome at the G20 summit. This included helping to foster stronger engagement between the G20 and the Global Governance Group (G3), which Singapore chairs, as well as with more United Nations members. She commended the Kingdom's efforts — during its presidency of the summit — to reach members from outside the G20, and thus creating an impression that it is a comprehensive group representing international concerns and perspectives. Halima said: "With regard to Singapore, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the slogan of G20 under the Saudi presidency "Seizing the opportunities of the twenty-first century for all" more relevant. As the international community grapples with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, international cooperation has become more important than ever before, and Singapore commends Saudi Arabia for its leadership role in mobilizing international efforts to face the challenges posed by the epidemic, which included holding the virtual summit of G20 leaders in March 2020, and commended the Kingdom for ensuring the important work of the G20 through virtual meetings, as travel is still not possible during this period." Apart from the urgent priority of addressing the health and safety consequences of COVID-19, Halima stressed that it was important for the G20, as the premier international economic forum, to send a strong message of support for the rules-based multilateral order as well as global trade. In the interview, the president also touched on the Kingdom's initiatives and opportunities for empowering women. "For Singapore, empowering women and supporting them in the pursuit of their dreams and aspirations is crucial to the country's success," she said while expressing at the same time her happiness to see Saudi women keen to work and contribute to the success of their country, and easily assume jobs in all levels of society, including the government. For this, she cited the example of Princess Reema Bint Bandar, the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States, who is also the first Saudi woman to be elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee. The president also expressed happiness over the fact that one of the officials who coordinated and facilitated her visit to the Kingdom in 2019 was an able young woman. Halima observed that during her visit to Riyadh last year, she was pleased to visit the King Abdulaziz Historical Center, saying that the visit provided her with a detailed practical view of the Kingdom's development. "In view of its rich history and cultural diversity, Saudi Arabia is an archaeologist's dream come true. I look forward to more work being done to showcase the rich and beautiful history of the Kingdom and its people over the coming years," she added.
