The U.S. celebrates a half-century of diplomatic relations with Singapore today as it hosts Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for a state dinner.
Greeting Lee and his wife this morning at the White House, President Barack Obama noted the visit is the first official one from the Asian country in 30 years.
Obama, speaking about both his visit to Singapore during his first year in office and of his days living in Southeast Asia as a young boy, called the nation “the little red dot on many maps … with a very big impact on the world.”
Lee, who has been in office since 2004, is the son of Singapore’s first prime minister and national hero Lee Kuan Yew. He spoke of his father’s inaugural visit to the U.S., received by then-President Lyndon Johnson in 1967.
At the time, a newly independent Singapore was “struggling to build a modern economy with no means to defend ourselves in a turbulent Southeast Asia,” Lee said, but was able to prosper with the help of America’s presence in the Vietnam War, which prevented Communism from spreading.
“Singapore’s own ties with the U.S. have remained steadfast through nine U.S. presidents – five Republican and four Democratic – and three Singapore Prime Ministers,” Lee said.
Lee’s visit is expected to begin conversations on building a rules-based economic and security order for the Asia-Pacific, as well as the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and military cooperation.
