KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam was accorded a state welcome at Istana Negara today, his first state visit to Malaysia since assuming office in September 2023.
Tharman and his wife, Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, arrived at Istana Negara at 10am and were welcomed by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia.
Also in attendance were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Ministers Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, and Cabinet members.
The ceremony at the parade grounds began with the Malaysian and Singaporean national anthems by the Royal Malay Regiment’s central band, followed by a 21-gun salute.
Tharman then inspected a guard of honour mounted by four officers and 103 personnel from the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment, led by Mohd Masrur Hidayat Masri.
Tharman’s visit is at the invitation of the King, and will end July 15.
According to Wisma Putra, the visit reciprocates Sultan Ibrahim’s state visit to Singapore on May 6 and 7, 2024, and reflects the close and longstanding bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries.
The ministry noted that Singapore remains Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner globally and its largest within ASEAN.
Bilateral trade between Malaysia and Singapore totalled RM402.35 billion in 2025, an increase of 1.5 per cent from 2024.
Malaysia-Singapore trade continued to grow this year, rising 14.5 per cent to RM189.9 billion between January and May 2026, compared with RM165.93 billion in the same period last year.
