MFA Press Statement: Visit of Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam to Russia (18 to 22 June 2013)

        Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam will visit Russia from 18 to 22 June 2013. 

         DPM Tharman will co-chair the Fourth Session of the High-Level Russia-Singapore Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) with First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov on 19 June 2013 in St Petersburg.  DPM Tharman will be accompanied at the IGC by Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Senior Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Health and Minister of State for Manpower Dr Amy Khor, and Minister of State for Finance and Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo.  DPM will also be accompanied by a business delegation jointly led by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and Singapore Business Federation (SBF), as well as officials from various agencies.

         Established in 2010 following the State Visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Singapore in 2009, the IGC is a platform to promote broad-based collaboration between Singapore and Russia across different sectors.  This year, the IGC will focus on cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, information and communications technology, transport, culture, tourism, social infrastructure, health, and education. 

         DPM Tharman will also participate in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he will speak at a panel titled “Making the Tough Decisions in Reforming Global Finance” on 20 June 2013. 

         Thereafter, DPM will visit Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, on 21-22 June 2013 at the invitation of President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov. He will be accompanied by a business delegation. The visit will focus on economic opportunities for Singapore in Kazan.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

17 JUNE 2013