THE Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Manpower, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, will visit Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates till Tuesday, after which he will head to Kuwait on Wednesday.

Mr Lee will co-chair the 4th Abu Dhabi Singapore Joint Forum with Mr Khaldoon Al-Mubaraka, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority.

He will also be signing the Kuwait Singapore Investment Guarantee Agreement (IGA) with Kuwait's Minister of Finance, Mustafa Jassim Mohammad al-Shimali. The agreement will help to promote bilateral investment flow by giving investors of both sides greater certainty by setting out investment norms and protection.

Under the IGA, investors will be accorded non-discriminatory treatment and will be compensated if their investments are expropriated or nationalised.

Other Gulf countries that have signed the IGA include Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. IGAs with Qatar and the UAE are currently being negotiated.

Mr Lee will be accompanied by officials from the Ministry, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Enterprise Singapore, Economic Development Board, Monetary Authority of Singapore and a Singapore business delegation.