SINGAPORE: President Halimah Yacob will make a state visit to the Netherlands from Tuesday (Nov 20) to Saturday, the first such visit by a Singapore head of state to the country.
Mdm Halimah will visit Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Eindhoven, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a press statement on Monday.
AdvertisementThe state visit is at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander. He and Queen Maxima will receive Mdm Halimah in a ceremonial welcome and host a state banquet in her honour.
Mdm Halimah will meet Singaporeans in Amsterdam, and also visit Prodock, which is a hub to facilitate innovation in the port of Amsterdam.
In The Hague, Mdm Halimah will meet Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and be hosted to an official dinner. She will also jointly meet President of the Senate Ankie Broekers-Knol and President of the House of Representatives Khadija Arib.
"En route to The Hague, President Halimah will visit a branch campus of the Wageningen University & Research, one of the top Dutch universities, for briefings on sustainable farming, innovative horticulture and food safety.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"President Halimah will also visit Deltares, an independent institute in Delft for applied research in the field of water and the subsurface," MHA said.
In Rotterdam, Mdm Halimah will be hosted to lunch by mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb and attend a business forum with Dutch and Singapore companies.
In Eindhoven, she will meet Dutch researchers from Brainport Eindhoven - the innovation centre of the Netherlands - and the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Mdm Halimah will be accompanied by her husband Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli will be on the visit, along with Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry Tan Wu Meng, Members of Parliament Alex Yam, Vikram Nair and Cheryl Chan.
Two business delegations, led by the Singapore Business Federation and Enterprise Singapore, will also visit the Netherlands.
During Mdm Halimah’s absence, Mr JY Pillay, chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers will exercise the function of the Office of the President.
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