His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, yesterday granted an audience to a delegation of ministers and senior officials from Singapore, here on the 14th Brunei-Singapore Exchange Visit.

Also present at the audience at Istana Nurul Iman were His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large at the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The 17-strong Singapore delegation of ministers and senior officials were led by Minister of Foreign Affairs George Yeo. The delegation arrived in the country yesterday on a three-day visit.

The delegation included: Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan; Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean; Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs; Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports; and Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs.

The Exchange Visit is part of a series of annual exchanges aimed at promoting interaction between leaders, civil servants and members of the private sector. This year's exchange took place with separate meetings held amongst Brunei and Singapore ministers, a Senior Officials' Colloquium and a golf friendly. - Borneo Bulletin (15th Mar 2009)