KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia and Singapore leaders signed an agreement on Tuesday to create a special economic zone to attract global investment and ease the cross-border flow of goods and people.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called the Johor-Singapore special economic zone a “unique initiative” that harnesses each other's strengths and deepens linkages in a world that is becoming more polarized.
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Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, right, inspects honor guards during a welcoming ceremony prior to his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, unseen, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, right, inspects honor guards during a welcoming ceremony prior to his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, unseen, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, right, inspects honor guards during a welcoming ceremony prior to his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, unseen, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong speaks during a press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, third from right, with his cabinet ministers meets with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his delegation members, unseen, at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, left, with his delegation members meets with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, unseen, at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, left, speaks during a press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, center left, with his delegation members meets with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, third right, at the prime minister's office in Putajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, left, walks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim with the background of Putra Mosque during a welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, right, speaks during a press conference with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
“Very rarely you find two countries working together as a team,” he told a joint news conference after the signing ceremony. “These two countries have a common strategy, to assist one another, to work and benefit from each other’s strengths... This is the new attitude we must have other than talking always in terms of rivalry and unnecessary conflicts.”
The zone, in Malaysia's southernmost Johor state, will offer tax breaks and include several flagship areas for various sectors, from manufacturing and aerospace to tourism, energy and healthcare. Officials are targeting to attract 50 projects within the economic zone in the first five years, creating 20,000 skilled jobs. The move is a boon to Singapore, a global financial hub with scarce natural resources and land.
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the neighbors' strong linkages are an important foundation and building block for an integrated region. Malaysia is the chairman this year of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“Where ASEAN is concerned, we are talking about not just more trade and investment linkages, but infrastructure linkages including the ASEAN power grid. These are all good projects that Singapore will support and we hope under Malaysia’s leadership, we can make good progress,” Wong said.
“The greater competition we face is not among ourselves within ASEAN, it’s outside of the region... so ASEAN has to come together, look at ways in which we can enhance our value proposition and be competitive together,” he said.
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, right, inspects honor guards during a welcoming ceremony prior to his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, unseen, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, right, inspects honor guards during a welcoming ceremony prior to his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, unseen, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, right, inspects honor guards during a welcoming ceremony prior to his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, unseen, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong speaks during a press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, third from right, with his cabinet ministers meets with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his delegation members, unseen, at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, left, with his delegation members meets with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, unseen, at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, left, speaks during a press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, center left, with his delegation members meets with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, third right, at the prime minister's office in Putajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, left, walks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim with the background of Putra Mosque during a welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, right, speaks during a press conference with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
