Singapore PM arrives in Delhi, takes bus to hotel

Loong will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee, while Union Minister Sushma Swaraj will call on the visiting dignitary.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrived in New Delhi on Monday night and in a break from tradition opted to take a chartered bus to his hotel rather than an official entourage of official cars.

Prime Minister Loong, who is accompanied by his 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 in the national capital.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a luncheon in the honour of Prime Minister Loong. The two leaders will hold bilateral talks, which will 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.

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

Later, Loong will also attend a reception hosted by the Singaporean diaspora living 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 Loong.

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

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