PHOTO FROM Presidential Communications Office
Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Thursday for his first state visit to the Philippines, also the first state visit of a Singaporean leader since 2019.
The 67-year-old leader, who was senior minister and monetary authority chair before winning a historic landslide (70 percent) victory in Singapore’s presidential election last September, proceeded to Luneta to lay a wreath at the Rizal Monument.
Tharman and his wife, Jane Yumiko Ittogi, were greeted by President Marcos and first lady Liza Araneta Marcos at the Malacañang Palace grounds where the visiting head of state was also conferred state honors.
After the customary “meeting of the four eyes” (one-on-one) talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of two memorandums of understanding (MOUs).
“MOUs in the fields of health and maritime security are already in the pipeline and are anticipated [to be] finalized in the very near future,” Mr. Marcos said at the start of bilateral talks.
READ: Singapore’s president arrives in Malacañang
“There will also be the planned signing of MOUs by Philippine local government units and their Singapore private sector partners, a collaboration of a Philippine national government agency and the Singaporean private sector, and [a] business-to-business [agreement],” he added.
‘Opportune time’
Mr. Marcos recognized that the bilateral relations between the two nations are deep and multifaceted. He was elated over the signing of the MOU on Defense Cooperation by the defense ministers of both countries last July.
According to the President, he was pleased that after months of negotiations, the MOU on the Recruitment of Healthcare Workers and the MOU on Collaboration on Carbon Credits Under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement were exchanged during President Shanmugaratnam’s visit.
In their joint statement after the bilateral meeting, Tharman said the agreements come “at an opportune time” as the two countries are marking their 55th year of diplomatic relations.