Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will be in Brunei for three days from Jan. 24 to 26, 2024.

This will be his first overseas state visit since taking office, according to the President's Office in a Jan. 15 news release.

Going to Brunei at Sultan's invitation

President Tharman is going to Brunei at the invitation of Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

He will be accompanied by his wife, Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, as well as other delegates.

This includes:

• Minister for National Development Desmond Lee.
• Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education Maliki Osman.
• Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang.
• Members of Parliament Mariam Jaafar and Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim.
• Officials from the President’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Development, and Ministry of Education.

The visit coincides with the 40th anniversary of Singapore establishing diplomatic relations with Brunei.

President Tharman will receive a ceremonial welcome at Sultan Bolkiah’s official residence, Istana Nurul Iman, and have an audience followed by a bilateral meeting with the Sultan.

He will also be hosted to a state banquet by the Sultan and his wife, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha.

During these engagements, he will also meet senior members of the Brunei Royal Family and Cabinet, including Brunei’s Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah.

President Tharman will also be visiting Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel who are training in Brunei, and meeting the Singaporean community in Brunei at a reception.

Recently, Singapore leaders like Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean were in Brunei to attend the wedding of Prince Abdul Mateen.

Going to Brunei at Sultan's invitation

President Tharman will be on a five-day work visit in Switzerland before his Brunei trip.

He will be accompanied by officials from the Economic Development Board, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, and the President’s Office.

President Tharman is participating in the 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos from Jan. 16 to 19, where he will meet government leaders from various countries, and some senior business and philanthropic leaders.

Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng are also attending the WEF.

President Tharman will be speaking in three separate sessions on Jan. 17 and 19, and attend a meeting of the WEF Board of Trustees.

He will then head to Zurich, where he will co-chair the Global Commission of the Economics of Water (GCEW), and meet with several Singaporeans in Switzerland.

Besides being the GCEW co-chair, President Tharman is a member of the WEF's Board of Trustees, Group of Thirty Board of Trustees Chairman, and United Nations Human Development Report Advisory Council co-chair.

Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers Eddie Teo will exercise the functions of the office of President during President Tharman’s absence.

Top image from Tharman Shanmugaratnam/Instagram