STATE VISIT BY PRESIDENT TONY TAN KENG YAM TO THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA, 8 TO 11 FEBRUARY 2015

President Tony Tan Keng Yam will make a State Visit to the Republic of India from 8 to 11 February 2015.  This is President Tan’s first State Visit to India, and will showcase our long-standing and strong relations with India as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore in 2015.

President Tan will attend a Welcome Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Presidential Palace, followed by a Wreath Laying ceremony at Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi.  President Tan will meet President Pranab Mukherjee, who will also host President Tan to a State Banquet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.  Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will also call on President Tan.

President Tan will inaugurate the opening of the Peranakan Exhibition themed “The Peranakan World: Cross-Cultural Art from Singapore and the Malacca Straits”, which is the main commemorative event celebrating the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations, at the National Museum in New Delhi. 

President Tan will launch the Singapore-India Commemorative Book published by the Institute of South Asian Studies and attend the “Flavours of Singapore” hosted for the Singapore community in New Delhi.  As part of Singapore’s SG50 outreach, Mrs Mary Tan will be presenting a donation of 300 Singapore-themed books to the National Library of India under the National Library Board of Singapore’s SG50 Gift of Books project.  These titles include topics on Singapore’s biodiversity, history, economic development, literature and arts and culture.

President Tan will be accompanied by Mrs Mary Tan; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu; Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Communications and Information Lawrence Wong; Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Transport Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim; and Member of Parliament Vikram Nair.

During President Tan’s absence, Mr J Y Pillay, Chairman of the Council of the Presidential Advisers, will exercise the functions of the office of the President for the period from 8 to 11 February 2015.

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Press Statement of 9 February 2015 on State Visit by President Tony Tan Keng Yam to the Republic of India

President Tony Tan Keng Yam, who is in India on a State Visit, was accorded a Welcome Ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and laid a wreath at the Raj Ghat earlier this morning.  He also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

During the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, both leaders reaffirmed the warm and longstanding relations between Singapore and India, and highlighted the celebrations both countries were undertaking to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Singapore-India diplomatic relations.  Both leaders agreed to further strengthen ties by elevating bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership, and achieve concrete deliverables in areas such as “Smart Cities” and “Skills Development”.  Prime Minister Modi also noted the good progress of Singapore’s collaboration with Andhra Pradesh on the master plan for the new capital city.

Prime Minister Modi identified the 21st century as the “New Asian Century” and noted that there were many new opportunities for further bilateral cooperation.  Both leaders also had fruitful discussions on enhancing aviation and maritime connectivity between Singapore and India.