Official Visit of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to the Republic of Turkey and Attendance at the 10th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Milan, Italy (12 to 17 October 2014)

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make his first official visit to Turkey from 12 to 15 October 2014. From Turkey, PM Lee will proceed to Milan, Italy, to attend the 10th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) from 16 to 17 October 2014.

In Turkey, PM Lee will visit both Ankara and Istanbul. In Ankara, PM Lee will call on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. PM Lee will also be hosted to lunch by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, as well as to dinner by PM Davutoğlu. In Istanbul, PM Lee will meet chief executives of leading Turkish companies and attend a dinner hosted by Mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbaş.

In conjunction with PM Lee’s visit to Turkey, International Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation will organise a Singapore business promotion mission to Turkey.

In Milan, PM Lee will join other Asian and European leaders in attending the 10th ASEM Summit. Under the theme “Responsible Partnership for Sustainable Growth and Security”, ASEM leaders will exchange views on global and regional issues of mutual interest, and discuss how to advance Asia-Europe cooperation. On the sidelines, PM Lee will also take the opportunity to meet other ASEM leaders, as well as leading Italian business executives.

Mrs Lee will accompany PM Lee in both Turkey and Milan. For the visit to Turkey, PM Lee will also be accompanied by Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo, as well as Members of Parliament Foo Mee Har and Zaqy Mohamad. In Milan, PM Lee will be joined by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Grace Fu.

During PM Lee’s absence, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean will be the Acting Prime Minister.

* * * * *

PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
SINGAPORE
11 OCTOBER 2014