Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrived Monday for an historic first-ever four-day visit from Singapore, accompanied by a 60-member delegation.
The prime minister entered Israel via the Allenby Bridge crossing with Jordan.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Israel and Singapore was signed in the morning by Ambassador Gil Haskel, the Head of MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation — and Singapore’s ambassador to the State of Israel, Ambassador Winston Choo Wee Leong. The memorandum descsribes the cooperation between MASHAV and the Technical Cooperation Directorate (TCD) of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was signed in the run-up to the visit to Israel of the Prime Minister of Singapore.
The MOU signing ceremony signaled the successful conclusion of the discussions and development dialogues held by the two sides, beginning in 2013 in Singapore and their subsequent resumption in 2015 in Jerusalem. According to the MOU, the two countries will cooperate by providing training in various spheres of development (economic development, innovation, health and sustainable development) to professionals from developing countries around the world. The training courses will take place in Singapore, in Israel, or in a third country, and will be funded by both states.
Prime Minister Loong is to be honored at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Sunday afternoon with an honorary doctorate from the institution.
Later in the day, Loong will tour the Old City of Jerusalem, visiting the Jaffa Gate entrance to the ancient city, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Jewish Quarter, and the Western Wall.
On Tuesday the Singapore prime minister will meet with media at a reception in the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, prior to a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the afternoon Loong is expected to make the traditional diplomatic visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum, and then visit the Israel Museum to view the Shrine of the Book and the Dead Sea Scrolls, among other exhibits.
Loong is slated to visit the Palestinian Authority capital of Ramallah on Wednesday morning. In the afternoon he is scheduled to meet with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin at the presidential residence in Jerusalem. The Singapore will follow that meeting with a visit to Tel Aviv and the Yitzhak Rabin memorial in Rabin Square, and a meet-and-greet with Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Hulda.
On Thursday, Loon will follow a meeting with former President Shimon Peres at the Peres Center for Peace with a tour of Old Yafo (Jaffa).
This is the first-ever visit to Israel by a Singapore prime minister. That nation was founded 51 years ago, just a few years more than a decade after the rebirth of the State of Israel. Diplomatic relations between the two nations were established in 1969.