President Tharman to make state visit to Sweden from Oct 17 to 21

SINGAPORE: President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will make a state visit to Sweden - the first by a Singapore president - from Saturday (Oct 17) to Oct 21, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Friday.

The visit, at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf, follows the Swedish monarch's visit to Singapore in November 2024 and marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Mr Tharman will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Royal Palace in Stockholm and be hosted to a state banquet by the king and Queen Silvia.

He will also meet Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Speaker of the Riksdag Andreas Norlén and other members of the Swedish parliament.

Mr Tharman will also deliver a lecture at the Stockholm School of Economics and be hosted to lunch by members of the Stockholm City Council.

Together with the Swedish king, he will engage with Swedish entrepreneurs and business leaders from various sectors, as well as representatives from Fryshuset, a Swedish non-profit organisation for youth empowerment.

In addition, Mr Tharman will attend a reception hosted for Singaporeans in Sweden.

He will also visit the World of Volvo museum in Gothenburg with the Swedish king for an engagement with businesses on the future of transport, as well as Chalmers University of Technology.

Mr Tharman will also be hosted to lunch by Governor of Västra Götaland Sten Tolgfors.

He will be accompanied by his wife Mrs Jane Ittogi, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, and Minister of State in the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Manpower Foo Cexiang.

Members of Parliament Vikram Nair and Valerie Lee, as well as business leaders and officials from the President’s Office, MFA, the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, the National Research Foundation, the Economic Development Board, and Enterprise Singapore will also join the trip.