PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make an official visit to Kiel, Germany from Dec 12 to 13, before attending the Asean-EU Commemorative Summmit in Brussels, Belgium on Dec 14.

PM Lee will meet German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and officiate at the launch of two Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) submarines, Impeccable and Illustrious, on Dec 13, with Chancellor Scholz in attendance, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on Sunday (Dec 11).

The visit to Germany comes shortly after Chancellor Scholz’s trip to Singapore last month. The two submarines to be launched on Tuesday are the second and third Invincible-class submarines Singapore has procured from German manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

In Germany, PM Lee will be accompanied by Mrs Lee, Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, as well as officials from PMO, RSN, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence.

On Wednesday, PM Lee will attend the Asean-EU Commemorative Summit in Brussels. This is the first Asean-EU Summit involving the leaders of the member states of Asean and the European Union.

“The Commemorative Summit marks 45 years of Asean-EU dialogue relations, and is an opportunity for both sides to discuss ways to further deepen Asean-EU relations,” PMO said in the statement.

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During PM Lee’s absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will be the Acting Prime Minister from Dec 12 to 16.