Visit of PM Lee Hsien Loong to the Republic of India (Jul 2012)

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will visit New Delhi, India, from 10 – 12 July 2012, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who visited Singapore in November 2011. PM last visited India in June 2005.

PM will attend a Welcome Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Presidential Palace, followed by a Wreath Laying ceremony at Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. PM will call on President Madam Pratibha Patil and Vice-President Dr Mohammad Hamid Ansari. Apart from PM Singh, PM will also meet other political leaders. PM will deliver the keynote address at a Business Summit co-organised by the three Indian business chambers – the Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. PM will also participate in a Dialogue Session at the Singapore Symposium organised by the Institute of South Asian Studies and the Aspen Institute India.

Together with PM Singh, PM will witness the signing of two MOUs on Cooperation in Vocational Education and Skills Development; the first between the Ministry of Education and India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the second between Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education and the State Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi’s Department of Training and Technical Education on the establishment of a World Class Skills Centre in Delhi. They will also witness the renewal of the Bilateral Agreement for the Conduct of Joint Military Training and Exercises between the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Indian Air Force. The India-Singapore Parliamentary Friendship Group (ISPFG) will inaugurate its first meeting in conjunction with PM’s visit to India.

PM will be accompanied by Mrs Lee, Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer, Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat, the Chair of the ISPFG Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, members of the ISPFG Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Dr Janil Puthucheary, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education.

During PM’s absence, Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang will be the Acting Prime Minister.

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PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
SINGAPORE
10 JULY 2012