Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visits Italy and participates in the G20 meetings

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday (26 June) that Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will travel to Italy from 27 June to 1 July.

During his five-day working visit, Dr. Balakrishnan will attend the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The Rome meeting will be chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

According to the US State Department, at the meeting, ministers will discuss ways to maintain pressure on Islamic State remnants in Iraq and Syria and thwart Islamic State networks elsewhere.

It will be attended by Dr. Balakrishnan then at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the Joint Ministerial Session on Foreign Affairs and Development, and the Ministerial Session on Development in Matera, southern Italy.

The Foreign Ministry said it would participate in these meetings at the invitation of Di Maio as the Italian president of the G20.

“Singapore is the coordinator of the Global Governance Group, which includes 30 small and medium-sized members of the United Nations and regularly contributes to G20 discussions,” the ministry added.

The State Department said the G20 meetings will focus on promoting multilateralism, global governance, food security and sustainable recovery in developing countries, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Balakrishnan will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other countries. He will be accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The minister’s visit to Italy follows an official visit in Hanoi from June 20-23, during which Singapore and Vietnam discussed ways to prepare for resuming business trips and going to “selected tourist sites”.