Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong to make official visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
Mr Lee will meet the presidents and prime ministers of both countries from Aug 24 to Aug 31.
Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong is set to embark on official visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan from August 24 to August 31, marking his first trip to Central Asia, as announced by the Prime Minister's Office on August 23. During his stay in Astana, Kazakhstan's capital, Lee will meet with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, and two deputy prime ministers - Zhaslan Madiyev and Kanat Bozumbayev.
He will be honored with the Order of Dostyk of the First Class, an award previously conferred upon former President Halimah Yacob and the late Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee will also deliver a lecture at Nazarbayev University in Astana, where he will receive an honorary professorship. In Almaty, Kazakhstan's second-largest city, he will be hosted by Mayor Darkhan Satybaldy and hold business talks with Singaporean and Kazakh counterparts. Kazakhstan is Singapore's largest trading partner in Central Asia, with a combined value of S$485.6 million in goods and services trade.
In Uzbekistan, Lee's itinerary includes visits to Tashkent and Samarkand, where he will meet with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, and other officials. He will address the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, the upper house of the Uzbek parliament, and host a lunch with the governor of Samarkand. In 2024, Uzbekistan was Singapore's second-largest services trading partner in Central Asia and its third-largest goods trading partner in 2025.
The visit is expected to culminate in the signing of a joint statement aiming to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement between Singapore and Uzbekistan.
Written by urgent.news from CNA - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
