Singapore foreign minister to visit Brunei today

SINGAPORE, March 22 — Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will visit Brunei Darussalam today, after which he will go to Malaysia and Indonesia, the foreign affairs ministry said.

The minister’s visit reaffirmed the close and longstanding special relationship between Singapore and Brunei, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement did not specify any other reason for the visits, but last week Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for an end to bloodshed in military-ruled Myanmar and for South-east Asian leaders to hold a high-level meeting to try to find a way out of the country’s escalating crisis.

Brunei is currently chair of the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean). — Reuters