SINGAPORE - Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan will co-chair the Fifth Meeting of the India-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) for Bilateral Cooperation with Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj during a two-day visit to India that kicks off on Tuesday (Oct 31).
The visit will see Dr Balakrishnan travel to New Delhi as well as Guwahati, the capital of the state of Assam, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) press statement.
The visit kicks off with the India-Singapore JMC meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, which will review the state of bilateral relations and discuss new areas of cooperation between the two countries.
Dr Balakrishnan will subsequently be hosted to lunch by Ms Swaraj.
Minister Balakrishnan will also speak on the topic "India, Singapore and Asean: Shared History, Common Future" at the Singapore Symposium 2017 co-organised by the Institute of South Asian Studies and the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Dr Balakrishnan will be hosted to lunch by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati. Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Sonowal will also witness the signing of agreements to kick-start project implementation for the North East Skills Centre (NESC) in Guwahati.
The NESC is Singapore's third skills centre in India and will contribute to the development of India's North East region, according to the MFA.
Minister Balakrishnan will be accompanied on his trip by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
