Singapore welcomes the King and Queen for their first state visit
SINGAPORE: Monday, May 6, seen the arrival of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofia, Queen of Malaysia, in Singapore on a two-day state visit.
President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam has invited the state visit, which is the first since His Majesty took the throne on January 31.At 9.45 a.m., Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah left Istana Besar, Johor, in a convoy led by two ministers who were present: Anthony Loke Siew Fook, the minister of transportation, and Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, the foreign minister of Singapore.
Datuk Dr. Azfar Mohamad Mustafar, the Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore, accompanied Their Majesties as well.
Tharman and his wife, Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, welcomed Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah at The Istana, Singapore, at 10.45 a.m. after they arrived via the Johor Causeway.
At the Ceremonial Plaza, The Istana, His Majesty then examined the guard of honour with the president of Singapore in tow.
Sultan Ibrahim will meet with Tharman after the State Welcome ceremony, and on May 15, he will have an audience with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is stepping down.
Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah will go to Tharman’s State Banquet at The Palace in the evening.
The King will meet with Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Lawrence Wong, on Tuesday, May 7, to start the second day of the state visit. The King will then proceed to the Parliament building.
The Queen will be stopping by this hospital in the interim to see the women’s and children’s sections.
Before leaving for Malaysia, Their Majesties are also expected to check on the status of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) project.
Between Singapore at Woodlands North station and Malaysia at Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru, there is a 4 km shuttle service known as the RTS Link.
On November 22, 2022, Sultan Ibrahim performed the groundbreaking ceremony. – Bernama