JOHOR BARU, Malaysia: Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to look beyond bilateral bottlenecks to help each other counter the global financial crisis.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and his Singaporean counterpart George Yeo reaffirmed both nations' desire to build a stronger diplomatic and economic relationship.

"The best way to deal with our relationship is to look at the positive aspects, be it economically or politically," Dr Rais said after an annual sports meet between Wisma Putra and the Singapore Foreign Ministry here yesterday.

Yeo pledged to visit development sites in Johor such as Iskandar Malaysia, Pontian and Kukup to get a better picture about Malaysia?s development.

"I will also see if there are things that we can do together," he said, giving assurance that Singapore would fully back the Iskandar Malaysia project.

Yeo said Singapore expected its good relations with Malaysia to continue when Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak takes over as Prime Minister next year.

Some 100 diplomatic officers and staff from both ministries took part in the two-day event.