South African Deputy President In Singapore To Boost Ties Between Two Nations

South African Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, arrived in the Republic of Singapore on Sunday for a three-day working visit, aimed at building and strengthening bilateral relations, especially to increase trade, economic, knowledge and cultural exchange between the two countries.

Mashatile was received by his Singapore counterpart, Candith Mashego-Dlamini, and South Africa High Commissioner to Singapore, Charlotte Lobe, as per SA News.

Mashatile took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday to share two photos of him -- one being received by the officials and another one featuring him interacting with kids.

He began his visit with a tour of the Marina Barrage, Singapore's innovative water resource management project.

"... As a resource-poor and water-scarce country, Singapore has invested significantly in research and development of water management and sustainability," he wrote alongside the photos.

During the three-day visit, Mashatile will spend time at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and deliver a speech on the 30 years of diplomatic relations between South Africa and Singapore titled "Celebrating a journey of mutual respect, strategic partnership and cooperation."

In Singapore, the deputy president will be accompanied by Mashego-Dlamini; Nomalungelo Gina, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition; Buti Manamela, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology; Philly Mapulane, Minister of Communication and Digital Technologies; Magdalene Sotyu, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment alongside other senior government officials of South Africa.

Considering trade between both countries, South Africa exports gold, manganese ore and acyclic hydrocarbons to Singapore, while it imports refined petroleum, passenger and cargo ships and organo-sulfur compounds, data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity said.

This visit came after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Cape Town in May.

Both countries marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, and the president noted there was significant potential to develop this economic partnership further.

At that time, Ramaphosa said that the visit provided South Africa and Singapore an opportunity to discuss new economic cooperation areas, including digitalization, communications and technology, water and sanitation, and skills development.