The President will make a state visit to Singapore on Friday (Jun 4) to attend the 9th security regional forum. During his two-day stay there, he will also hold summit talks with his Singaporean counterpart Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

At Friday’s security forum, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue the President will give a keynote speech before some 400 officials and experts in the field of foreign affairs and security and attend a dinner party. The President will meet with Lee Kuan Yew, the senior minister of Singapore.

The Korea-Singapore summit meeting will take place on Saturday, followed by a luncheon. A breakfast meeting is scheduled with businessmen in Singapore. 

The Shangri-La Dialogue was first held in 2002 and is an annual gathering at which policy makers from 28 countries engage in in-depth discussion on the security of the Asia Pacific region. The dialogue is expected to be an opportunity for President Lee to underline Korea’s commitment to the security of Northeast Asia. He will also explain Korea’s own rise from the ashes of the Korean War (1950-53) 60 years ago.

Singapore is Korea’s biggest trading partner among ASEAN nations. The upcoming summit is expected to help both countries to cooperate further in the economy, as well as in the field of energy and low-carbon, green growth. The two countries may also agree to expand on cultural and personnel exchanges.

This is the third summit meeting between the President and his Singaporean counterpart since the Korea-ASEAN Special Summit meeting in June 2009 and the APEC Summit meeting in November 2009. President Lee last visited Singapore seven years ago in 2003.