Singapore President to visit Odisha on January 17-18
BHUBANESWAR: Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will be on a two-day visit to Odisha on January 17 and 18.
The visit assumes significance as the island nation is the first country partner of Utkarsh Odisha: Make-in-Odisha conclave, the mega investors’ summit of the BJP government in the state slated to be held on January 28 and 29.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore said Tharman will visit India from January 14 to 18 at the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu. His visit will mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Singapore-India diplomatic relations.
“President Tharman’s state visit commemorates the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Singapore-India diplomatic relations. He will visit New Delhi from January 15 to 16 and Odisha from January 17 to 18,” the Singapore MFA said.
The Singapore President will have a meeting with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to discuss economic strategies and mutual opportunities. The chief minister will also host an official dinner for him.
Majhi, during his recent four-day visit to Singapore to invite investors to the Utkarsh Odisha summit had also requested a visit of President Tharman to Odisha. “The fact that he has chosen to visit only Odisha state shows that he has accepted the CM’s invitation,” sources said.
Tharman is scheduled to visit the World Skills Centre, which was set up by Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education and Education Services (ITEES) with funding from the Asian Development Bank, and a vaccine manufacturing plant run by Bharat Biotech. He will also visit a few places reflecting Odisha’s cultural heritage including the iconic Sun Temple at Konark, official sources said.
Tharman will be accompanied by his wife Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, minister for Transport and second minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat, senior minister of state for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann, and MPs Lim Biow Chuan, Joan Pereira and Wan Rizal.
A business delegation will also join the President in Odisha to explore collaborations in skill development and other areas of economic expansion, said the Singapore MFA.
