Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam is visiting Washington and Moscow from today to Oct 17. In Washington, he will chair a meeting of the G-20 (Group of 20) Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance and the G-30 International Banking Seminar.

In Moscow, DPM Tharman and Russian DPM Igor Shuvalov will co-chair the Eighth High-level Russia-Singapore Inter-Government Commission.

He will be accompanied in Moscow by Second Minister (Manpower and Home Affairs) Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State (Law and Finance) Indranee Rajah, and Senior Minister of State (Trade and Industry) Koh Poh Koon.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat is also in Washington today until Friday for a meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors. He will also attend the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.