Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam to visit Phl

MANILA, Philippines – President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Singapore’s Head of State, will undertake a State Visit to the Philippines from April 2 to 5, upon the invitation of President Benigno S. Aquino III.

President Tan will meet with President Aquino to discuss matters of mutual concern, including cooperative activities in defense, trade and investment, and the Filipino community in Singapore, among others. He will also meet with the Philippine-Singapore Business Council.

While in Manila, President Tan will hand over donations, contributed by the people of Singapore, to the partners of the Singapore Red Cross involved in the post-Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) rehabilitation projects.  Following this, he will fly to Basey, Western Samar, where he will present medical supplies to the Basey District Hospital – a joint rehabilitation project between the Singapore Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Singapore was the Philippines’ 4th largest trade partner in 2013, with total trade amounting to $9.27 billion. It is also the 6th largest source of visitors to the Philippines, with 175,304 tourist arrivals in 2013. Singapore also hosts a 180,000-strong Filipino community.

This is President Tan’s first state visit to the Philippines. It is a reciprocal visit following President Aquino’s State Visit to Singapore on March 9 to 11, 2011.

He will be accompanied by his spouse, Mrs. Mary Tan, and a delegation composed of the following: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Grace Fu, who is also the Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, and the Second Minister for Foreign Affairs; Senior Parliamentary Secretary Hawazi Daipi, who is also from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower; and Members of Parliament Dr. Lam Pin Min and Mr. Vikram Nair.