ADELAIDE - President Tony Tan Keng Yam on Wednesday met two top South Australian officials and discussed education and investment links.

In a morning meeting with South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill in Adelaide, the two reaffirmed the strong education ties between Singapore and South Australia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

These include the strong presence of Singaporean students in South Australia, and the establishment of the Ngee Ann-Adelaide Education Centre in Singapore in 1998.

The two also touched on trade and investment ties, and agreed to explore ways to strengthen them further.

Dr Tan encouraged firms in South Australia to use the Republic as a base to expand into South-east Asia.

Later, Dr Tan was called on by South Australia Governor Kevin Scarce, and then hosted to a state lunch.

They reaffirmed the strong relations between Singapore and Australia, particularly in education and between their people, and agreed there was potential to develop South Australia's tourism industry further.

They also had good exchanges on regional and South Australian domestic developments.

At the lunch, South Australian businessmen from various industries gave Dr Tan updates on their business developments.

Dr Tan will depart for Perth on Thursday to visit the Royal Singapore Armed Forces Pearce Detachment and meet members of the Singaporean community on the final leg of his six-day state visit.