SINGAPORE - United States Vice-President Kamala Harris will begin her formal engagements on Monday (Aug 23) with a call on President Halimah Yacob at the Istana, followed by a meeting and joint press conference with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

An orchid will be named in her honour in a ceremony at the Istana.

She will also visit Changi Naval Base and the US littoral combat ship USS Tulsa, which is in port for a multilateral exercise.

On Tuesday, Ms Harris will deliver a policy speech and participate in a round-table discussion with the business community involving Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Friday.

She will depart Singapore for Vietnam on Tuesday afternoon.

This will be the Vice-President's first visit to Asia, and it comes on the heels of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's late-July trip to Singapore and the region.

Ms Harris, who is the first female and first person of colour to hold the second-highest office in the US, is expected to meet Singapore leaders and discuss ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in multiple areas.

Covid-19, climate change, the digital economy and security will be top of the agenda, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan earlier this week.

Ms Harris will be accompanied by senior US officials from the Vice-President's Office, National Security Council, and Department of State.