MFA Press Statement - State Visit of President S R Nathan to Thailand 17 - 21 January 2005

President S R Nathan will make a State Visit to Thailand from 17 to 21 January 2005 at the invitation of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. This will be the first State Visit to Thailand by a Singapore Head of State.

President Nathan will be accompanied by Mrs Nathan; Minister for National Development Mr Mah Bow Tan and Mrs Mah Bow Tan; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed; Members of Parliament Mr Ong Kian Min and Mdm Ho Geok Choo; and senior officials.

In Bangkok, President Nathan will be received by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and hosted to a State Banquet by the King and Queen of Thailand and honoured with the key to the City of Bangkok. The Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, the President of the Senate, Mr Suchon Chaleekure, and the President of the Supreme Court, Mr Supachai Poo-Ngam, will call on President Nathan separately. Prime Minister Thaksin will host a reception in honour of President Nathan on 18 January 2005. President Nathan will also be meeting Thailand's Privy Councillors and the Singapore community in Bangkok.

While in Chiang Mai, President Nathan and Mrs Nathan, accompanied by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, will visit several Royal Projects. At the end of his State Visit to Thailand, President Nathan will make a stopover visit in Phuket where he will visit a local Buddhist temple to pay his respects to the victims of the tsunami disaster of 26 December 2004.