SINGAPORE, Oct 29 — Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto have held high-level talks amid recent bilateral challenges.
Singapore Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said the communication had established a political commitment on both sides to do "what is necessary", with the focus now shifting to implementing their plans and commitments.
"I am not at liberty to discuss the details, but just let me give you the assurance that communication has occurred at the highest level between my prime minister and with President Prabowo," he told Singapore media following the conclusion of his working visit to Indonesia on Wednesday.
He was responding to a question about the state of bilateral relations between Singapore and Indonesia following recent developments, as well as details of his meeting with Prabowo that day.
A transcript of the interview was made available by Singapore's Foreign Ministry.
Balakrishnan described his visit to Jakarta as another high-level engagement, during which he met his newly appointed Indonesian counterpart, Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir, and called on Prabowo.
"We had good conversations, honest conversations, sincere conversations, and we have come up with a few constructive approaches, some of which we are in the midst of implementing."
Balakrishnan said Tuesday's announcement of a joint task force recognised that haze was a transboundary problem requiring a collective response from both Indonesia and Singapore.
"The announcement yesterday (Tuesday) on the Joint Task Force is a recognition that in the case of haze, it is a transboundary problem and it requires a collegiate, collective response on the part of both Indonesia and Singapore," he said.
The minister said the task force aimed to facilitate a collective response, enhance information sharing and strengthen coordination to deter companies from engaging in such antisocial and dangerous activities.
"We can also hold them accountable, and we can try our best to make sure that this does not recur," he added.
