Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters the Maghain Aboth Synagogue in Singapore on Monday. Photo: Screenshot.

During his visit to Singapore on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped by the Maghain Aboth Synagogue to meet members of the Southeast Asian city-state’s Jewish community.

“70 years ago if you looked at Israel and you looked at Singapore, there wasn’t much to see,” Netanyahu said in remarks delivered at the synagogue. “But there’s a lot to see, and it’s not I think accidental that our two nations formed this bond between us, because we are both inspired to do things, to punch above our weight. Israel is the innovation nation; we’re both entrepreneurial centers. We have innate talent and we have great drive to succeed.”

“I believe that great powers around the world look at Israel and Singapore today and see tremendous economic opportunities, tremendous,” the prime minister continued. “And one reason that that is the case is that we have an unbridled spirit and we put it to use. That spirit is something that we’ve enshrined in our peoples for a long time, for a long time. The Jewish people have passed learning from one generation to another, an inquisitive mindset and the ability to produce new things.”

According to The Straits Times, the two-century-old Jewish community in Singapore currently numbers around 2,500 people — a tiny minority of the island nation’s total population of more than 5.6 million residents.

Watch footage of Netanyahu’s visit below: