Pelosi visit reaffirms US’ strong partnership with Singapore
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday (Aug 2) her visit to Singapore has reaffirmed the United States’ “strong partnership with an important ally and friend”.
“In bilateral meetings with key government leaders, we focused on how our nations can continue working together on security and stability, economic growth and trade, and values-based governance,” Pelosi said in a statement released by the US Embassy in Singapore.
Pelosi on Monday (Aug 1) met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President Halimah Yacob, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, and Senior Ministers Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Teo Chee Hean.
Her statement said she discussed with PM Lee “our ongoing collaboration to uphold and strengthen a rules-based international order”.
“There were also discussions on trade and investment” she added.
Lee has already been to the United States twice this year, most recently for the ASEAN-US Special Summit with US President Joe Biden in May.
Pelosi said her meeting with Madam Halimah was “distinguished with special attention on the advancement of women in our society”.
She took note of Madam Halimah’s “trailblazing public service as Singapore’s first woman president and first woman Speaker of the Parliament”.
She added that their conversation “focused on the US-Singapore alliance, including in promoting security in the region, responding to the pandemic and combating the climate crisis”.
She also thanked Madam Halimah for Singapore’s hosting of American servicemen.
Her meeting with Wong, concurrently the finance minister, centered on how the US and Singapore “can continue to work together to advance security, prosperity and opportunity; for families on both sides of the Pacific”.
With Dr Balakrishnan and Tharman, she said: “Our discussion focused on strategic investment in our nations’ people to address inequity and advance economic growth”.
“We also discussed efforts to advance partnerships with Singapore and other ASEAN partners to advance regional security, prosperity and governance.” she said.
Pelosi said she discussed with Teo Singapore’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Teo, in turn, gave her delegation “a clear report on Singapore’s efforts to address the climate crisis as a country that is susceptible to rising sea level”.
Pelosi also had meetings with leaders of the business community, where the focus was on public-private sector collaboration.
“We asked for their support for the LGBTQ community in Singapore, as more American businesses are establishing and adding offices in Singapore,” she said.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES