Singapore and Malaysia remain committed to continue talks over building a new bridge linking the neighbours but stressed any agreement must be of mutual benefits.

"We do not intend to gain... I think both sides must mutually benefit from the outcome of the discussions," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying by the Sunday Times yesterday.

"Overall, we have been discussing the subject in a very friendly and frank way and I think this is the type of atmospherics I would like to maintain," he said.

Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, who held an informal meeting with his Malaysian counterpart late Saturday here, said the city-state would back the project if both sides stood to gain equally.

"It costs a lot of money and if there's a balance of benefits, then we'll be happy to go along," Yeo said, adding it would cost Singapore more than S$500 million (RM1.15 billion) to build its half of the bridge.

"This is the basis on which both sides are now conducting negotiations," he said.

Malaysia has been lobbying for a new bridge to replace an 80-year-old causeway and caused a stir in late January by announcing it was going ahead with the project even though Singapore has not yet approved plans to build its half.

The two countries have squabbled for years over a variety of issues. While other bilateral feuds have been settled amid a thawing in relations over the past year or so, the bridge remains a thorny issue.