The prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore have met for a leaders' retreat that was delayed for several months amid numerous points of friction between the two neighbours. After years of harmonious ties while Najib Razak was prime minister, several issues have cropped up since Mahathir Mohamad became Malaysia's leader once again over maritime boundaries, air space, transport links and water supplies. But as Rian Maelzer reports from Putrajaya, Malaysia, the leaders seem keen to overcome their differences.

The jovial mood among the senior officials suggested the outcome of this leaders' retreat would not be friction and fireworks, but rather commmon-sense and compromise. In recent months, the Singapore and Malaysian governments have publicly sparred over a number of issues.

MAHATHIR MOHAMAD PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA "At least we are always on talking terms and if we have problems we air our problems, sometimes in public, sometimes in private. But we have not done is we have not confronted each other."

LEE HSIEN LOONG PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE "Our relationship between our two countries is rooted in a long history and strong family and business ties, and this has remained unchanged even with the new Malaysian government. And we've worked hard to strengthen ties and to overcome some of the issues which have arisen."

The countries have managed to resolve a dispute over airspace in Malaysia's south across from Singapore and diffused a dispute over overlapping port boundaries in the narrow Johor Strait.

RIAN MAELZER PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA "The two countries agreed to revert to the previous boundaries for now, not to allow any commercial activities or any government vessels to enter the disputed waters, and to start negotiations on delineating the boundaries as quickly as possible."

But on the most contentious topic -- the decades-old deal requiring Malaysia to provide raw water to Singapore for a pittance --the leaders still differ sharply, but agreed to keep talking and go to arbitration if necessary.

LEE HSIEN LOONG PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE "These are continuing issues. If it's managed well, it can be productive for both countries and the overall relationship can prosper, but if it's not managed well it can cause a lot of trouble and poison the overall relationship."

The leaders and their teams seem keen to seek an antidote to the numerous bilateral irritants rather than to inflame matters further. Rian Maelzer, CGTN, Putrajaya, Malaysia.