Jakarta. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is scheduled to meet President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday, about a few weeks before the former steps down from office.

Both countries have been taking turns to arrange the annual leaders’ retreat that aims to bolster bilateral ties. The upcoming meeting is set to take place at the Bogor Palace. Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visited Jokowi on Friday at the latter’s palace in Jakarta to prepare for the leaders’ retreat.

“This will be the last official visit by Lee Hsien Loong [to Indonesia] before he hands over power to Singapore’s next prime minister,” Jokowi wrote on the social media platform X, shortly after meeting Balakrishnan.

“[The leaders’ retreat] will discuss a number of key issues, ranging from food security, energy transition, and the new capital project Nusantara,” Jokowi said.

According to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, the capital relocation is high up in the agenda as the project has caught the interest of many Singaporean firms. The upcoming talks on energy transition are expected to revolve around solar power generation. 

Lee is set to step down from his prime ministerial post on May 15 after two decades at the helm and he will be succeeded by his deputy, Lawrence Wong. Likewise, Indonesia is also witnessing a leadership transition. Two-term-president Jokowi will pass the reins to his successor Prabowo Subianto in October. Prabowo is the current defense minister and was Jokowi’s rival in the 2014 and 2019 presidential races. Earlier this week, Balakrishnan stopped by Prabowo’s office to congratulate the president-elect on his election victory.

In an Instagram update, Balkrishnan said that Indonesia-Singapore ties had reached “new heights” under the leadership of Jokowi and Lee. “We will be celebrating the excellent ties between our two nations and reaffirming the continuity of our partnership as both countries embark on our respective leadership transitions,” Balkrishnan wrote.

Singapore is Indonesia’s largest foreign investor, investing about $15.4 billion throughout 2023. Indonesia-Singapore trade amounted to $31 billion last year, government data shows. Lee visited Indonesia when Jakarta hosted the 43rd ASEAN Summit last September.

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