(BP Batam Chairman, Muhammad Rudi, having business talk in warm, informal settings in Batam with Republic of Singapore’s Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mohamad Maliki Osman. Photo: Antara Kepri)
Singapore’s Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs, Mohamad Maliki Osman, had a recent visit to Batam and informal meeting with BP Batam Chairman, Muhammad Rudi, who concurrently also serves as the Mayor of Batam.
During the meeting, Maliki expressed that he was pleased to be able to visit Batam, and that he was enthusiastic to visit Batam as well as Indonesia.
“This (visit) is the first one to Indonesia after Covid. (After) Covid (measures’) relaxation, being eager to visit Batam is a sure thing for me, to have a meeting with Pak Rudi and get updated on things post-covid relaxation,” he said.
Maliki felt even more enthusiastic after knowing Batam’s post Covid atmosphere, commenting that activities in Batam seem to have returned to pre-Covid normal. Having said that, Maliki hopes synergy between Batam and Singapore to be reinvigorated, be it the existing dealings or any new additions.

Maliki and Rudi discussed increasing partnership in bettering Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) as Batam and Singapore’s existing collaborative work, as well as the new potential addition; Nongsa Digital Town. As publicly known, NDP is a designated area to bridge various digital corporations between Indonesia and Singapore.
“We talk on how we attract more investors where Singapore help and support through training, expertise,” Maliki stated.
He added that Singapore is keen to increase investment potential in Nongsa Digital Town, and that he will urge Singapore investors to invest in this project.
“So what we do, can be (done) through cooperation in training,” Maliki added.
BP Batam Chairman, Muhammad Rudi, also expressed his mutual enthusiasm for the Singaporean Minister’s visit and meeting. Besides discussing the recent replacement of Singapore’s Consulate General for Batam, Maliki intended the visit for good relations between Batam and Singapore.
It is widely known that the largest portion of investment in Batam comes from Singapore, having reached 3.845 trillion IDR during the January-June 2022 period, so topics such as Singapore’s issues or Batam development plans can really be interconnected.
“Now that we have just had our work-hangout, we hope to find more ways to add more investments coming to Batam,” Rudi said.
Singapore-Batam relations have so far been sound. Singapore is known to have aided Batam during Covid and other times.
“We hope (Batam-Singapore) relations are well-maintained, so investments in Batam consequently also run smoothly,” Rudi added.

Also present during the meeting were BP Batam Head Bureau for Public Relations, Promotions, and Protocol Affairs Ariastuty Sirait and a number of officials from the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
During the two-day visit, the Second Foreign Minister of Singapore also attended Singapore’s Independence reception night organized by the Consulate General, visited Batam Aero Teknik Special Economic Zone and the newly built iconic Tanjak Masjid (Mosque).
(Source: Batam Pos, Antara Kepri)