SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be making a six-day official visit to South Africa and Kenya from Sunday to Friday.

In Cape Town, Mr Lee will meet South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who will host him to an official lunch. The two leaders will participate in a business roundtable with business delegations from both sides, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on Saturday.

Mr Lee’s visit to South Africa comes at the invitation of Mr Ramaphosa, as the two countries celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2023. Mr Lee will also be hosted to dinner by South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile, and meet Singaporeans based in South Africa and the region.

On Wednesday, he will fly to Nairobi, where he will meet Kenyan President William Ruto, said the PMO.

Mr Lee will be joined by a business mission to South Africa and Kenya led by the Singapore Business Federation.

The Republic is expected to ink a number of deals with both South Africa and Kenya during the visit in areas that include human capital development.

This comes after Mr Lee launched the three-year Singapore-Africa Partnership Package (Sapp) during his visit to Rwanda in June 2022, a new initiative to strengthen technical assistance to the continent.

Under the Sapp, Singapore will tailor training for government officials from African countries on emerging issues like sustainability, digitalisation and smart cities. The Republic will also encourage its people and businesses to venture into new markets in Africa, Mr Lee said then.

During his trip, Mr Lee will be accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan; Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and for Health Janil Puthucheary; Minister of State for Trade and Industry and for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan, as well as MPs Vikram Nair and Mariam Jaafar.

The delegation also includes officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Communications and Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Enterprise Singapore.

During Mr Lee’s absence, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean will be Acting Prime Minister from Sunday to Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will take on that role on Thursday and Friday.