Singapore Prime Minister Lands In South Africa To Celebrate 30 Years Of Diplomatic Relations

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, on Sunday morning, marking it first day of his official visit. The 71-year-old Prime Minister is on six days visit to South Africa and Kenya.

Prime Minister Loong will be hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday as the two countries celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations. Singapore and South Africa's economic relations are based on trade, investment, tourism promotion and skills transfer.

Singapore has invested more than R5 billion in South Africa's various sectors including manufacturing, financial services, and real estate.

"Singapore's visit to South Africa continues the High Level engagement the two governments have fostered since diplomatic relations began in 1993, ahead of South Africa's democratic transition," the Presidency said on Sunday, SANews reported.

The statement continued, "Since then, the two countries have shared excellent bilateral relations, which have formed the basis of regular high level visits."

The Presidency further shared that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Singapore as partners who work together closely.

Singapore and South Africa, both are members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Over the last three decades, the countries have signed several agreements to improve their cooperation in trade, investment, education, and defense.

Last year, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor visited Singapore for an official visit and the Prime Minister's visit will be a continuation of the same.

Considering the upcoming meeting, the statement disclosed that President Ramaphosa and Prime Minister Hsien Loong will talk about the respective country's cooperation in the areas of communications and digital technology, science and innovation, water and sanitation, and skills development.

"The leaders discussed the potential for closer collaboration in these areas when they met on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit held in Bali last year," the Presidency said. "Cooperation is expected to deliver mutual benefits in terms of economic growth, job creation, and innovation."

This visit will also ensure that the business leaders from both countries will collaborate in various sections like ports, logistics and supply chain, healthcare and biomedical, food manufacturing, and engineering.

Trade is one of the key collaborations between the two countries. The Presidency noted that the trade summed up to approximately R28 billion last year.

"South Africa exports a range of products to Singapore, including gold, diamonds, and wine, while Singapore exports electronics, chemicals, and machinery to South Africa," the Presidency said.

The official visit ceremony will be held at Tuynhuys located in Cape Town.