JAKARTA - Singapore is happy to encourage investments in Indonesia, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said much would depend on the specifics of the projects, among other things.
Speaking to the Singapore media about his talks with President Joko Widodo, he said the Indonesian leader was focused on developing infrastructure and would like Singapore to encourage investors to come to Indonesia.
"I said yes, we have good relations with Indonesia, we are happy to have our investments grow. But it will depend on the specifics of each project and investors will have to be convinced that these are projects which will make good sense to them," Mr Lee said.
He also met other leaders, including Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Rwandan Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi, South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Angolan Deputy President Manuel Vicente, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Hwang Woo Yea and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
At talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, Mr Lee invited him to Singapore and said he hoped President Mahmoud Abbas would also consider a visit.
Mr Lee said Singapore remains committed to supporting the Palestinian National Authority's efforts to build capacity, and welcomed more officials to visit.
"PM noted the positive bilateral relations and that it was a two-way learning process," his press secretary Chang Li Lin said.
He also met Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahleb and welcomed ongoing co-operation between the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore and Al-Azhar University, expressing hope that its Grand Imam, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, would visit Singapore.
Mr Lee recalled the good discussions he previously had with the muftis, Ms Chang said, adding that "both Singapore and Egypt have a common interest in combating extremism".
Mr Lee told reporters that extremism was also on the minds of leaders: "We all know that this is a problem and each of us has to do our part within our countries to tackle it. But it will be with us for quite some time to come."
This article was first published on Apr 23, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.