Brunei Crown Prince visits Victoria School, hosted to lunch by President Halimah at start of official trip

SINGAPORE – It was a packed schedule for Brunei’s Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah on Wednesday (Aug 3), the first day of his official trip to Singapore for a bilateral programme that is resuming after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He visited Victoria School in Siglap, Our Tampines Hub and its integrated public service centre, and was hosted to lunch by President Halimah Yacob and her husband, Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee, at the Istana.

He will also be hosted to a welcome dinner by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday evening.

Crown Prince Billah is here for the 8th Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders’ Programme (YLP) from Aug 3 to 5. Launched in 2013, the YLP is an annual exchange that Singapore and Brunei take turns to host to deepen ties between younger leaders from both sides. The last YLP was hosted by Brunei in 2019, before Covid-19 struck.

He visited Victoria School on Wednesday morning with his wife, Princess Sarah, and a delegation.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, who hosted them, said in a Facebook post that they observed a biology experiment and visited the school’s eco-garden.

At Victoria Hall, the school’s hostel, a Secondary 3 student from Thailand named Possaweekrish shared his experiences as an international student in Singapore.

To commemorate the visit, the school presented a painting of the facade of Victoria School to Crown Prince Billah. It was done by Damien Soon, a Secondary 2 student who is in an art elective programme.

Mr Chan said: “With the gradual resumption of travel, I am glad that we are once again able to have in-person exchanges with close friends like Brunei. Our two countries have much to learn from each other, and I look forward to furthering our cooperation in education and beyond.”