President Halimah attends mourning of UAE president

President Halimah Yacob represented Singapore at the official mourning of United Arab Emirates' (UAE) second president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, yesterday in Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Khalifa, a pro-Western moderniser who aligned the Gulf Arab state closer to the US and its allies, died last Friday at the age of 73. He had rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2014.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that President Halimah would be accompanied by Dr Maliki Osman, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education. They would be joined by officials from the President's Office and the Foreign Ministry. During President Halimah's absence, Mr Eddie Teo, chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers, will exercise the function of the Office of the President, said the Foreign Ministry.

President Halimah and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sent their condolences to the UAE on Saturday following the death of Sheikh Khalifa.