SINGAPORE: Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan reaffirmed the importance of unimpeded transit through the Strait of Hormuz, during a working visit to several Gulf states that ended on Tuesday (May 5), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said.

Dr Balakrishnan visited the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where he also discussed areas of cooperation between ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

In the meetings with his counterparts - which took place amid a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran - Dr Balakrishnan reaffirmed Singapore's longstanding ties with its Gulf partners and "exchanged views on regional developments, including the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the importance of upholding the right of unimpeded transit passage in the Strait", MFA said in a statement.

In the UAE, Dr Balakrishnan met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who is also the managing director and group CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Dr Balakrishnan also held talks with the Minister of Foreign Trade Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, MFA added. Both sides discussed opportunities to strengthen their comprehensive partnership in areas such as trade and investment, supply chain resilience, energy, the digital economy and civil defence.