Singapore – Deputy President of South Africa, His Excellency Paul Mashatile, arrived in Singapore today for a three-day official visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Mr. Heng Swee Keat.
This marks Deputy President Mashatile’s first official visit to Singapore in his current capacity and coincides with the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations. The visit builds on the positive momentum generated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to South Africa in May 2023.
Singapore and South Africa share a strong and broad-based partnership, collaborating across various fields like trade, investment, air connectivity, information and communications technology, and skills development. During his visit, Deputy President Mashatile will meet with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lee, as well as be hosted to a lunch by Deputy Prime Minister Heng.
Furthermore, Deputy President Mashatile visited the Marina Barrage and ITE College Central to gain firsthand insight into Singapore’s innovative water management solutions and skill development initiatives. He will also receive a briefing on the SkillsFuture movement, a national effort aimed at promoting lifelong learning and skills acquisition.
Adding to his agenda, Deputy President Mashatile will deliver a public lecture at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, sharing his perspective on the future of South Africa-Singapore relations.
The working visit began with a tour of the Marina Barrage development, Singapore’s innovative water resource management project. As a resource-poor and water-scarce country, Singapore has invested significantly in research and development of water management and sustainability. pic.twitter.com/qEtKNcOYVt
— Paul Mashatile🇿🇦 (@PMashatile) December 10, 2023