Singapore's foreign minister to visit US

Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law, K Shanmugam, is scheduled to visit the United States from Tuesday to Friday, the city-state's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. During his four-day visit, Shanmugam will meet his counterpart U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the two-sides' first meet ever since Kerry was appointed as Secretary of State, according to the Foreign Ministry. He will also meet his Law counterpart, the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. The trip is at a time when the United States is in the midst of carrying out a strategic "pivot" towards a rising Asia. The ministry said the two foreign ministers have met before when then-Senator Kerry was the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Shanmugam will also "meet several key members of the U.S. Congress, senior Administration officials, prominent American strategic thinkers, and members of the media." The two sides are scheduled to discuss the joint training programs for Southeast Asian countries through the Singapore-U.S. Third Country Training Program. Besides, regional and international developments like the U.S. continued strong engagement of Asia, the ASEAN-U.S. relationship, and the ongoing negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, will also be expected to touch during the meetings.