President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos will welcome Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse, Mrs. Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, as they embark on a three-day state visit to the Philippines starting tomorrow, Aug. 15.

President Marcos stated that he intends to reaffirm the Philippine government’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with Singapore during President Shanmugaratnam’s visit.

The two countries will continue to engage in cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral arenas, particularly in the fields of energy and healthcare, among others.

In addition to the bilateral meeting, the two leaders are expected to witness the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on the recruitment of Filipino healthcare workers and collaboration on climate financing during the state visit.

This will mark President Shanmugaratnam’s first visit to the Philippines in his official capacity as Singapore’s new head of state. The last Singaporean leader to visit the country was Halimah Yacob in 2019.

In May this year, President Marcos invited President Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to visit the Philippines.

Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Singapore were formally established on May 16, 1969. The two countries celebrated their 55th year of diplomatic ties this year. PND