President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will make a state visit to the United Republic of Tanzania from June 8 to 10. He will be the first Singaporean head of state to visit the East African country.

The visit, at the invitation of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, comes as the two countries mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on Monday (June 1).

While in the capital of Dar es Salaam, President Tharman will be given an official welcome ceremony and be hosted to a state banquet by his Tanzanian counterpart.

The two presidents will also witness a memoranda of understanding and exchange ceremony.

President Tharman is scheduled to deliver a speech and engage students at the University of Dar es Salaam during his visit.

A Singapore-Tanzania joint business roundtable, co-organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), will be held to enable business leaders from both sides to network and explore opportunities for collaboration. The SBF delegation will be led by executive committee member Mark Lee.

President Tharman's visit comes about 56 years after Singapore's founding prime minister made a visit to Tanzania in 1970 — as head of government.

During that visit, the two leaders discussed economic development, governance and social policies. They reportedly shared their experiences and strategies for post-colonial nation-building.

As part of his state visit, President Tharman will also visit the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, where he will meet with its president Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi.

There, he will visit Darajani Souk, a community rejuvenation project achieved through public-private partnerships, including Singapore agro-commodities company Nomanbhoy & Sons.

President Tharman will be accompanied on his state visit to Tanzania by his wife Jane Ittogi, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development Indranee Rajah, Ministers of State Alvin Tan and Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Members of Parliament, as well as officials from the President's Office, MFA, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Enterprise Singapore, and the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise. 

Working visit to South Africa

Before the state visit to Tanzania, President Tharman will make a working visit to South Africa from June 2 to 8.

There, he will meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, and Speaker of Parliament Thoko Didiza in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

President Tharman will also chair a meeting of the World Bank's high-level advisory council on jobs (HLACJ) and, in his capacity as chair of the board of the Group of Thirty (G30), participate in a G30 plenary hosted by the Reserve Bank of South Africa and a joint HLACJ-G30 seminar. Asianone