September 2, 2023
No. 288
Former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected the ninth president of the Republic of Singapore in the country’s presidential election held on September 1 and will take his oath of office on September 14. The Taipei Representative Office in Singapore has forwarded a congratulatory letter from President Tsai Ing-wen to President-elect Shanmugaratnam, conveying felicitations from Taiwan and expressing her high regard and hope for the further deepening of bilateral relations between Taiwan and Singapore.
In her letter, President Tsai noted that the two countries have continued to enhance their partnership in the postpandemic era in such domains as the economy, trade, tourism, culture, education, and technology, with Taiwanese investment in Singapore reaching new heights last year. She also expressed the hope of working with President-elect Shanmugaratnam to further deepen the friendship between Taiwan and Singapore and broaden bilateral collaboration for the welfare of the peoples of both countries.
Since his political debut in 2001, President-elect Shanmugaratnam was elected to the Singaporean parliament for five consecutive terms. He possesses a wealth of experience, having served in important cabinet positions, such as minister for education, minister for finance, and deputy prime minister. President-elect Shanmugaratnam had the support of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong following the announcement of his bid for the presidency this June. (E)