Singapore PM arrives in India on 5-day visit, ditches VIP convoy for bus ride

New Delhi: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrived in New Delhi on Monday night and instead of a VIP motorcade, he chose to travel in a chartered bus to reach his hotel.

Prime Minister Loong, who is accompanied by wife Ho Ching and a delegation comprising key ministers, Members of Parliament and senior officials, was received by Minister of State (Independent Charge) Statistics and Programme Implementation, Planning and Defence Rao Inderjit Singh upon his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a luncheon in the honour of Prime Minister Loong and the two leaders will hold bilateral talks, which will be followed by signing and exchange of three memorandums of understanding (MOU), including on cooperation in industrial property between the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and Singapore's Intellectual Property Office and on cooperation on establishment of a North East Skills Centre in Assam.

The Singaporean Prime Minister will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee, while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will call on the visiting dignitary.

Later, Prime Minister Loong will also attend a reception hosted by the Singaporean diaspora in India.

The visiting premier will also tour Udaipur in Rajasthan on October 5 and 6, where Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje will call on him and also host a luncheon for him.

An agreement on a capacity building programme in tourism and hospitality will be signed between the Rajasthan government and Singapore's Cooperation Enterprise.

Prime Minister Loong last visited India in December 2012 to attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit.