SINGAPORE'S PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG WILL HOLD A MEETING HERE ON MONDAY WITH SAUDI BUSINESSMEN ON MEANS OF DEVELOPING COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA AND SINGAPORE. THE TALKS WILL ALSO DEAL WITH PROSPECTS OF ENHANCING COOPERATION BETWEEN SAUDI AND SINGAPOREAN PRIVATE SECTORS. THE MEETING WILL BE ORGANIZED BY RIYADH'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. ABDUL-RAHMAN AL-JERAISI, THE CHAMBER'S CHAIRMAN UNDERLINED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE VISIT OF THE SINGAPOREAN PREMIER TO THE KINGDOM WHICH COMES FOLLOWING THE VISIT OF CROWN PRINCE SULTAN BIN ABDULAZIZ TO SINGAPORE. AL-JERAISI SAID THE SAUDI PRIVATE SECTOR IS KEEN ON PROMOTING COOPERATION WITH ASIAN COUNTRIES, NOTABLY SINGAPORE, WHICH HAS A DISTINGUISHED EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD OF DEVELOPMENT. HE NOTED THAT THE KINGDOM IS THE MAJOR COMMERCIAL PARTNER OF SINGAPORE IN THE MIDDLE EAST REGION. HE POINTED OUT THAT THE TRADE EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE KINGDOM AND SINGAPORE WITNESSED LAST YEAR A GROWTH OF 50 PERCENT.
