Kuala lumpur: Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam was accorded a state welcoming ceremony at Istana Negara today, marking his first state visit to Malaysia since assuming office in September 2023. President Tharman and his wife, Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, arrived at Istana Negara at 10 am and were received by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail; Deputy Prime Ministers Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof; along with several Cabinet ministers. The event commenced with the national anthems of both Singapore and Malaysia being played by the Central Band of the Royal Malay Regiment, followed by a 21-gun salute.

President Tharman then inspected a guard of honour, which was mounted by four officers and 103 personnel from the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment, led by Major Mohd Masrur Hidayat Masri. President Tharman is on a three-day state visit to Malaysia from July 13 to 15, at the invitation of the King.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the visit reciprocates Sultan Ibrahim's state visit to Singapore on May 6 and 7, 2024, highlighting the close and longstanding bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries. The ministry also noted that Singapore remains Malaysia's second-largest trading partner globally and its largest within ASEAN.

Bilateral trade between Malaysia and Singapore amounted to RM402.35 billion (US$93.97 billion) in 2025, marking an increase of 1.5 per cent compared with 2024. Trade has continued to grow this year, rising by 14.5 per cent to RM189.90 billion (US$47.87 billion) between January and May 2026, compared with RM165.93 billion (US$37.65 billion) during the corresponding period in 2025.