King of Sweden on state visit to Singapore from Nov 19 to 21

Aim is to boost cooperation on innovation, trade, investment and the green transition

- Tay Hong Yi

While Sweden and Singapore have enjoyed fruitful mutual ties for over half a century, an upcoming visit by the Swedish monarch aims to cement a broader and deeper long-term partnership.

The state visit to Singapore, led by the Scandinavian nation's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, will take place from Nov 19 to 21.

The aim is to strengthen the two countries' cooperation on trade, innovation, investment and the green transition.

More than 100 business delegates will visit Singapore with the Swedish royal couple.

The business delegation is one of the largest ever put together by Sweden for any state visit, reflecting robust interest from Swedish firms to enter the Singapore market or expand existing businesses, said the King on Nov 12.

He and Queen Silvia received visiting Singapore reporters at the royal palace, located in the old town at the heart of Swedish capital Stockholm.

The meeting was part of a media trip there hosted by the Swedish government from Nov 11 to Nov 14, ahead of the state visit.

"This (state visit) is to show the continuity, hopefully to make a long-lasting collaboration in any kind of business, and...hopefully, we can find new interesting sectors (to collaborate on),"" the monarch told reporters present.

Underscoring the parallels between Singapore and Sweden, the King said: "We are a fairly small economy, which means that we have had to live on exports for the last couple of hundred years."

However, he added that competition in the global supply chain is much tougher nowadays, and that Sweden and Singapore, both countries known for "fearless" innovators, can take on this competition together.

He is also keen to find out more about how the Republic maintains the efficiency and cleanliness it is known for.