SINGAPORE - Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang will be making his first official visit to Colombia and Costa Rica from Jul 16 to 19 to boost economic engagement and ties between the nations.
In Columbia, Mr Lim will sign the Colombia-Singapore Investment Guarantee Agreement (IGA) with the Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, H.E. Sergio Díaz-Granados Guida.
The IGA serves to boost greater investment flows between Singapore and Colombia. He will also meet with Colombian companies and Singapore companies based there.
Mr Lim will then visit San Jose, Costa Rica at the invitation of the Costa Rica Foreign Trade Minister Anabel Gonzalez.
He will be attending a Public Conference on "Singapore: Competitiveness, Innovation, Future" together with Costa Rican business leaders and academia.
The conference marks the entering into force of the Singapore-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (SCRFTA) which was initiated in Dec 2008.
The SCRFTA came into force on Jul 1, 2013 after four rounds of negotiations.
This is the third bilateral Free Trade Agreement that Singapore has entered into with Latin American countries.
Officials from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, International Enterprise Singapore and the Economic Development Board will be accompanying Mr Lim on this visit.
wjeanne@sph.com.sg