The party in Singapore shows no sign of stopping.

Many famous faces have come to our shores for the Asean and East Asia Summits, like President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who broke ground for a new Russian cultural centre and Orthodox Church.

Canada's PM Justin Trudeau in town

Another world leader is in Singapore, even though his country is neither a member of Asean nor the East Asia Summit.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Nov. 13, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada has been invited to Singapore to attend the Asean Summit and related summits.

He is here as a guest of the Asean Chair, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Trudeau will attend a working lunch hosted by PM Lee, and have an individual meeting with him.

Trudeau will also call on President Halimah Yacob at the Istana on Nov. 15.

But Trudeau has wasted little time, and been hard at work since arriving here.

First, he met with Canadian business leaders in Singapore on Nov. 13:

His caption read:

"Hello from Singapore! We’re wrapping up a busy first day ahead of the ASEAN Summit. I started the day meeting with Canada’s strong contingent of business leaders here – my thanks to the Canada-ASEAN Business Council & Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore for their hard work for Canada."

He also met with Temasek President Song Hwee Chia:

And the CEO of ST Engineering, Vincent Chong:

Technology seems to be on Trudeau's mind, as he spoke of Canada's interest in Artificial Intelligence and Smart Cities in his Facebook posts.

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Future member of EAS?

However, Trudeau's overtures could be seen as a sign of Canada's strong interest in the East Asia Summit.

It is not a full member, which includes the ten members of Asean and eight other major countries:

• The United States
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Russia
• Australia
• New Zealand

Instead, Canada is classed as a "dialogue" partner.

Trudeau's visit gives him the opportunity to make the case for Canada's inclusion in a forum that is not only important for trade, but regional security.

Also, according to CBC, Trudeau will meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in a Canada-China Annual Leaders' Dialogue while in Singapore, to discuss market access and other issues.

Given Canada's interest in diversifying trade and forging new partnerships, the invitation by PM Lee to Trudeau can be seen as a boon.

Top image from PM Justin Trudeau's Facebook page.