SINGAPORE, Sept 18 : Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from Sept 19 to 25 and deliver Singapore's statement at the high-level General Debate segment.

Dr Balakrishnan will participate in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Leaders' Meeting and the Informal Asean Ministerial Meeting (IAMM), and have a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts and with US interlocutors based in New York, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.

The minister will also host the 15th Global Governance Group (3G) Ministerial Meeting and a reception for the Forum of Small States (FOSS), which commemorates its 30th anniversary this year.

In another development, Singapore reported 1,847 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday night (Sept 17), bringing the total tally to 1,873,747.

Of the new cases, 203 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 1,644 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

Among the PCR cases, 177 were local transmissions and 26 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 1,525 local transmissions and 119 imported cases, respectively.

A total of 183 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with nine cases in intensive care units.

Two more deaths were reported from COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total death toll to 1,607, the ministry said.

 - ANN