Japanese foreign minister to visit Singapore

SINGAPORE - Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida is scheduled to pay a two-day official visit in Singapore from Thursday to Friday, the city-state's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

During his visit, Kishida will call on Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and meet with his counterpart K Shanmugam. This will be Kishida's first official visit to Singapore in his current capacity.

Kishida is on his visit for three Southeast Asian countries - the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei, and Australia as his first overseas tour. He is scheduled to be here after his visit in the Philippines.

Kyodo said on Tuesday that Kishida's visit was aim at enhancing ties with the countries over maritime cooperation so as to maintain regional peace and stability.

Earlier Japanese reports have also said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to visit three Southeast Asian countries - Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam late next week on his first overseas trip instead of visiting the United States.