South Africa’s Deputy President Mashatile calls on President Tharman, PM Lee during official visit
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South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile calling on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Istana on Dec 11.
PHOTO: THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM/FACEBOOK
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SINGAPORE - South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile called on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Dec 11.
Mr Mashatile’s visit – the first in his current capacity – coincided with the 30th anniversary of Singapore’s establishment of diplomatic relations with South Africa.
It also “builds on the positive momentum in bilateral relations” following PM Lee’s official visit to South Africa
In a Facebook post on Dec 11, President Tharman said it was good seeing Mr Mashatile after they last met in 2019, when Mr Mashatile was in Singapore under the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship.
In his post, Mr Tharman drew parallels between South Africa and Singapore, noting that both are post-colonial countries with a mix of races and cultures. Both are also strategically located along maritime routes, with the busiest ports in their respective regions.
“Despite the 9,000-odd kilometres between us, there is scope to further strengthen bilateral relations – looking beyond the 30th year of diplomatic relations between our two countries this year,” Mr Tharman said.
“I encouraged Deputy President Mashatile to continue working with Singapore on areas of mutual benefit, such as water management, vocational education, the digital economy, pandemic preparedness and air connectivity,” he added.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also said he was happy to catch up with Mr Mashatile after they last met in May in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.
During PM Lee’s official visit in May, he and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa witnessed the signing of two memorandums of understanding, which will see both countries working more closely in areas such as information and communications technology and human capital development.
“We have built strong economic and people-to-people ties, and the frequent exchange of visits reflects the importance of our relationship,” PM Lee said in a Facebook post on Dec 11.
“Deputy President Mashatile and I reaffirmed the close ties we enjoy. We are committed to further strengthening bilateral relations, including through technical cooperation and facilitating greater exchanges between our regions,” he added.
Mr Mashatile’s three-day visit to Singapore began on Dec 10. He was invited by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat.
On Dec 12, he will deliver a public lecture at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The lecture will “examine the mutual respect, friendship and strategic partnership between South Africa and Singapore”, according to the school.
