Saying the island republic would like to develop closer relations with Sabah and Sarawak, Lee added: “A lot of business can be done between Sabah and Singapore.”
He said this during a courtesy call by a Sabah delegation led by Musa at the Istana here.
Lee said he would like to make another visit to Sabah soon, noting that he last visited Sabah in 1984.
Meanwhile, Musa said Sabah could learn a lot from Singapore in terms of economic diversification, human resource development and city planning.
“Singapore has achieved successes in numerous fields and we can benefit from their story,” he said.
He said Sabah was diversifying its own economy from being primarily timber-based to service-based, such as tourism.
“We hope this visit will further strengthen ties and potential areas of business cooperation between Singapore and Sabah,” said Musa who is on a two-day working visit to Singapore.
Earlier, the delegation had a luncheon meeting with Singapore Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman at the latter’s office.
Among those in the delegation were Sabah Minister of Infrastructure Development Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Minister of Industrial Development Raymond Tan Shu Kiah, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Masidi Manjun, Minister of Special Tasks Teo Chee Kang, and State Secretary Sukarti Wakiman.