May 07, 2024, 05:18 PM
Malaysia's Yang di Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor, is in Singapore for a two day visit from May 6 to 7.
While here, he met President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, as well as a host of cabinet ministers.
He is accompanied by his wife Raja Zarith Sofiah, as well as Malaysia's Transport Minister, Anthony Loke and other officials.
Send off
The first to meet with Sultan Ibrahim was actually Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who joined the ceremonies in Johor to see the Agong off, on what is his first overseas state visit since taking the throne in January 2024.
Image via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar/Facebook[/caption]
Also present at the ceremony was his son, the Tengku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Idris and Johor Menteri Besar (chief minister) Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
Image via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar/Facebook[/caption]
President Tharman
When he arrived in the Istana, he was met by President Tharman, as well as an honour guard.
Image via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar/Facebook[/caption]
Image via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar/Facebook[/caption]
He was later hosted to a state banquet by President Tharman, where Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman were also in attendance.
Image via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar/Facebook[/caption]
Tharman said in his toast that Singapore looked forward to working with the Agong during the duration of his reign to "deepen the relationship between our two countries".
That relationship was deep and strong on many levels, whether it was through the shared cultural, culinary, and artistic roots, or whether it was in cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, research, tourism, and even emerging fields like the green economy and the digital economy and payments.
It appears that there was a little extra effort made to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the construction of the Causeway, with a special desert being made for the occasion, ondeh-ondeh with gula melaka and coconut ice cream, and a decoration in the shape of a bridge.
Prime Minister
The Agong also met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who noted that it had been two years since Sultan Ibrahim had conferred Johor's highest honour, Dato’ Sri Paduka Mahkota Johor, on him.
Image via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar/Facebook[/caption]
PM Lee also hosted the Agong to lunch, with Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, K Shanmugam, and Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat in attendance.
Image via Ministry of Communications and Information
Lawrence Wong
The Agong also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who will become prime minister on May 15.
Image via Ministry of Communications and Information
Wong hosted the Agong to breakfast, along with Leader of the House Indranee Rajah, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, and Deputy Leader of the House Zaqy Mohamad.
Also present was Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia, Vanu Gopala Menon.
Image via Ministry of Communications and Information
Sultan Ibrahim has traditionally had a close relationship with Singapore, having previously visited on numerous occasions, including last October when he visited for dinner.
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Top image via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar/Facebook
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