State Visit by President Halimah Yacob to the Republic of the Philippines, from 8 to 12 September 2019

President Halimah Yacob is in the Republic of the Philippines for a State Visit at the invitation of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. On the third day of her visit, President Halimah attended business events in Manila before departing for Davao City in the afternoon.

In Manila, President Halimah graced the opening of Podium Office Tower, a joint project between Keppel Land and the Philippine conglomerate SM Group. President Halimah also launched Singaporium, which is a lifestyle and food pop-up event organised by Enterprise Singapore featuring 17 Singapore companies from the lifestyle and retail, food services and food manufacturing sectors. The pop-up event will help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with their internationalisation plans and better understand the Philippine market.

President Halimah also delivered opening remarks at the 14^th Philippines – Singapore Business Council (PSBC) Meeting and met Philippine and Singapore business leaders over lunch. President Halimah highlighted Singapore’s robust economic ties with the Philippines, and the potential for greater cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, human capital development and innovation. There are opportunities for collaboration through sharing of experiences, training exchanges, and linking up innovation ecosystems to drive the digital economy and long-term growth. President Halimah encouraged the PSBC to continue promoting closer links between the Singapore and Philippine business communities.

In Davao, President Halimah was hosted to dinner by Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte. They affirmed the growing city-to-city commercial links. They discussed the potential for further cooperation between Singapore and Davao City in areas of mutual interest, including infrastructure development and sustainable urban solutions. Davao City, together with Manila and Cebu City are part of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network which was one of the key deliverables for Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2018.

Tomorrow, President Halimah will visit the Philippine Eagle Centre in Davao and participate in a dialogue with youths at the Ateneo de Davao University’s Al Qalam Institute for Islamic Identities and Dialogue in Southeast Asia. President Halimah will return to Manila to attend a reception for the overseas Singaporean community in the evening.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

10 SEPTEMBER 2019