A senior Singapore minister arrived in Jeddah this week to strengthen ties with the Saudi government.

Masagos Zulkfli, Singapore’s senior minister of state for foreign and internal affairs, met with Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed at his office on Thursday.

He is scheduled to visit Makkah on Friday and later leave for Madinah where he will meet with Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman, Singapore diplomatic sources told Arab News.

Zulkfli is also scheduled to meet Singapore students studying in Makkah and Madinah. Earlier, he met with Prince Abdulaziz Abdullah, Saudi deputy foreign minister, to explore areas for further cooperation, including youth exchanges.

He also called on Ahmad Al-Salem, undersecretary of the Interior Ministry, to discuss bilateral security cooperation. He then met with Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, to explore further tourism cooperation between the two countries.

Zulkfli held separate meetings with Riyadh Gov. Prince Khalid bin Bandar and Deputy Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah.

Strategically located in Southeast Asia, Singapore is a trading and travel hub for Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei.