MFA Press Statement: Visit of SMS Zainul Abidin Rasheed to Austria and the UK, 21-30 June 2010

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed will lead a delegation comprising representatives from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) to Austria to participate in a programme on managing social, cultural and religious diversity organised by the Austrian Foreign Ministry on 21-24 June 2010. During the visit, SMS Zainul will meet with government officials, academics and representatives from religious and civil society organisations to exchange views on how to foster social cohesion and harmony in a diverse community. As part of the programme, SMS Zainul will deliver a speech on "Managing social, cultural and religious pluralism and diversity - the Singapore experience" at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. While in Austria, SMS Zainul will also call on Dr Michael Spindelegger, the Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs.

Following his visit to Austria, SMS Zainul will make a working visit to the United Kingdom on 25-30 June 2010, where he will meet with government officials from the Foreign Commonwealth Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government, Members of the UK Parliament, as well as academics and representatives from think-tanks and religious organisations.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
20 JUNE 2010