PUBLISHED ONOctober 17, 2026 9:00 AMUPDATEDOctober 17, 2026 10:05 AMBYSean LerPrime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will make official visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Oct 18 to 22, marking his first visits to the Middle East as Prime Minister.
The visit to Qatar will take place from Oct 18 to 20, while the visit to UAE is from Oct 20 to 22, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement on Saturday (Oct 17).
"The visits will provide a timely opportunity for Singapore to exchange views with regional leaders on developments in the Middle East, reaffirm our support for dialogue and diplomacy, and strengthen cooperation with Qatar and the UAE in areas of mutual interest, particularly energy security and economic resilience," PMO added.
In Qatar, PM Wong will call on Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. The two leaders will co-chair the ninth Qatar-Singapore High-Level Joint Committee (HLJC), which is the primary platform for advancing cooperation between Qatar and Singapore.
Earlier in September, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan was in Qatar to co-chair the third iteration of the Qatar-Singapore Implementation Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) with Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi.
The IMM is a platform for the two countries to follow up on bilateral initiatives in the areas of information and communications technology, security, business, legal cooperation and sustainability. It was established under the Qatar-Singapore HLJC.
During that visit, the two foreign ministers reviewed the progress of bilateral initiatives, and identified opportunities to further deepen cooperation between the two countries.
While in the UAE, PM Wong will visit Abu Dhabi and Dubai, PMO said.
He will call on Abu Dhabi President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and meet with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
In Dubai, the prime minister will meet with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Deputy Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
He is also scheduled to meet with overseas Singaporeans at receptions in Doha and Dubai.
The prime minister will be accompanied by his wife, Loo Tze Lui, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Dr Tan See Leng, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry and the Prime Minister’s Office.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong will be Singapore's Acting Prime Minister during PM Wong's absence.
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