SINGAPORE, May 6 — Their Majesties Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah, the King and Queen of Malaysia, arrived in Singapore today for a two-day state visit to the republic.
The state visit, the first since His Majesty’s ascension to the Federal throne on January 31, was extended at the invitation of Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Their Majesties departed from Istana Besar, Johor Bahru, at 9.45am in a car convoy, accompanied by ministers-in-attendance, Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith were also accompanied by High Commissioner of Malaysia to Singapore Datuk Azfar Mohamad Mustafar.
The royal couple, who entered Singapore via the Johor Causeway, were greeted upon arrival at The Istana at 10.45am by Tharman and his wife Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam.
His Majesty then inspected the guard of honour, accompanied by the Singaporean President at the Ceremonial Plaza.
Once the state welcome ceremony concludes, Sultan Ibrahim will meet with Tharman, followed by an audience with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who will step down on May 15.
In the evening, Their Majesties will attend a state banquet hosted by Tharman at the Palace.
Tomorrow, 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.
Their Majesties are also scheduled to inspect the progress of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) project before departing for Malaysia.
The RTS Link is a four-kilometre shuttle service between Singapore’s Woodlands North station and Malaysia’s Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru.
Sultan Ibrahim officiated the groundbreaking ceremony for the project on November 22, 2022.
— Bernama
