King and Queen in S’pore for maiden state visit
SINGAPORE: The King and Queen of Malaysia, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, arrived in Singapore yesterday for a two-day state visit to the republic.
The state visit, the first since His Majesty’s ascension as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 31, was at the invitation of Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah departed from Istana Besar, Johor at 9.45am in a car convoy, accompanied by two ministers-in-attendance, namely Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Singapore Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Bernama reported.
Their Majesties were also accompanied by High Commissioner of Malaysia to Singapore Datuk Dr Azfar Mohamad Mustafar.
Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah, who entered Singapore via the Johor Causeway, were greeted upon arrival at The Istana, Singapore, at 10.45am by Tharman and his wife Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam.
His Majesty then inspected the guard of honour, accompanied by Tharman, at the Ceremonial Plaza, The Istana.
Sultan Ibrahim will hold a meeting with Tharman, followed by an audience with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is stepping down on May 15.
In the evening, Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah are scheduled to attend a state banquet hosted by Tharman at The Palace.
Today, the King will begin the second day of the state visit with an audience with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, followed by a visit to the Parliament building.
In the meantime, the Queen will be visiting a women’s and children’s hospital here.
Their Majesties are also scheduled to inspect the progress of the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) project before departing for Malaysia.
The RTS Link is a 4km shuttle service between Singapore at Woodlands North station and Malaysia at Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru.
Sultan Ibrahim officiated the groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Nov 22, 2022.
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