Newly installed Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is arriving in Kuala Lumpur tonight ahead of talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday.

He kicked off a tour of Southeast Asia this week to officially introduce himself to his regional counterparts with a one-day visit to Brunei.

Lee and Abdullah are expected to sign a revised double taxation agreement that is aimed at improving economic and investment opportunities between their countries.

Singapore and Malaysia have a history of prickly relations dating back to their separation over racial tensions in 1965, and issues such as a territorial dispute over a rocky islet continue to cause problems.

But relations have improved rapidly since Abdullah replaced Mahathir Mohamad as Malaysian leader in October last year.

With high-level government contacts between the neighbours accelerating and cross-border investments expanding, hopes are high that Abdullah and Lee will oversee a solid and long-lasting improvement in bilateral relations.

Meeting with Brunei's sultan

Earlier today, Lee had a friendly meeting with Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

"Brunei is a very old friend of Singapore. We have very good relations on a broad range of issues... There are hardly any problems to talk about," Lee told journalists after meeting with Hassanal for about an hour.

Lee said excellent bilateral ties dated back to the time of his father and Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, and continued through the 14-year reign of Goh Chok Tong, who stood down on Aug 12.

"I would like to carry on (the warm relations) ... so I decided to come here first," said Lee in remarks aired on Singapore's NewsRadio 93.8.

Lee said he and Hassanal held talks on regional and economic developments, as well as cooperation in areas of the economy and defence.

The Singapore government did not say when Lee would travel to the seven other Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries to complete the customary round of official introductory visits.