DPM Tharman on two-day visit to Moscow

[SINGAPORE] Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam will make a two-day visit to Russia that begins on Monday.

In the capital Moscow, he will co-chair the Eighth Session of the High-Level Russia-Singapore Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC8) with Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

The IGC is an annual high-level dialogue aimed at strengthening broad-based cooperation between Russia and Singapore. The seventh session of the IGC was held in Singapore last November.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Singapore and Russia will take stock of their trade and investment relations, and explore opportunities for further cooperation.

In conjunction with IGC8, Mr Tharman and Mr Shuvalov will attend the plenary session of Russia's Open Innovations Forum 2017, a technology forum co-organised by Skolkovo Foundation with the support of the Russian government.

They will also open the Russia-Singapore Business Forum organised by International Enterprise Singapore as part of OIF 2017.

Mr Tharman will be accompanied by Josephine Teo, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Manpower and Home Affairs; Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law; and Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development.

Mr Tharman will also be accompanied by a business delegation and officials from various ministries and government agencies.