INDONESIA SENIOR MARITIME OFFICIAL VISITS SINGAPORE UNDER THE DISTINGUISHED VISITORS PROGRAMME
Mr Leon Muhamad (L) called on Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, on Thursday morning.
Singapore played host to Mr. Leon Muhamad, Director General, Directorate General of Sea Transportation (DGST), Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) Distinguished Visitors Programme (DVP) from 19 to 20 January 2012.
Established in 1997, the DVP aims to engage senior maritime personalities who are prime movers and key opinion makers in the international maritime community. The DVP focuses on establishing and boosting good and long-lasting relations with these personalities and their organisations, as well as to strengthen bilateral maritime relations.
In his career of more than 20 years with Indonesia’s key maritime regulatory bodies, Mr. Leon has served as Head of Port Administration Office in various parts of Indonesia including Jakarta, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and East Java, before assuming the positions of Director of Sea Traffic and Secretary of DGST. In July 2011, he took over as the Director General of DGST. DGST and MPA share a long history of close cooperation in various maritime areas, including maintaining and enhancing safety of navigation in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, and maritime training and education.
This morning, Mr. Leon called on Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lui Tuck Yew. He also met with MPA’s Senior Management including Chief Executive Mr. Lam Yi Young. During the meeting, key maritime issues of mutual interest such as the Co-operative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, Tripartite Technical Experts Group and the DGST-MPA Training Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) were discussed.
“Indonesia is a strategic maritime partner to Singapore and we have strong partnerships with Indonesia in many areas in the maritime sector. Through this visit, we hope to further reinforce our bilateral maritime ties,” said Mr. Lam Yi Young.
Mr Leon hoped that MPA could share its experience and knowledge of the latest technology for the development of facilities and infrastructure of the port, and also welcome investors from Singapore to invest in Indonesia. He added that Singapore and Indonesia could continue to cooperate on the Co-operative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
Mr. Leon’s two-day visit programme also included visits to MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre in Changi and the Integrated Simulation Centre at the Singapore Maritime Academy.