PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Meeting with United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (March 2022)

Thank you, Ms Pelosi. I am very happy to be back again visiting the speaker and to meet some congressional representatives since my last visit here in 2017.

Singapore and the US share a strong and enduring partnership which stretches across many areas, and we are very grateful for the longstanding bipartisan support that Congress has given to this as reaffirmed, and in various acts, for example, in the National Defense Authorization Act, which name Singapore as a Major Security Cooperation Partner of the United States.

We look forward, however, to continue to develop and grow the relationship and to explore new areas of cooperation, for example in climate change, cybersecurity, infrastructure development, particularly in sustainable infrastructure development, and in the partnership for growth and innovation, which we are advancing together with the US administration.

These new areas built upon our economic cooperation, which is underpinned by our Free Trade Agreements between our two countries, which have promoted investments into the US, and exports from the US to Singapore, which altogether, account for a quarter million United States jobs.

So, it is a mutually beneficial relationship. It is not just in the economic area, but also in security area. In security as well, we work closely together because we believe that the security of the region is vital to the stability and prosperity of the Asia Pacific and the US is a big part of this story. It is critical for US to stay involved and engaged in the Asia Pacific and to develop and grow its economic ties with the region. The United States has what it calls the Indo-Pacific Economic Strategy, and in particular, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework which it is developing, and we hope to see this bear fruit in years to come.

With Congress, from time to time, congressional delegations visit Singapore, and including to the Shangri-La Dialogue, and I understand the Speaker is coming to Singapore for the CODEL very soon, and I look forward to meeting her then.

These US-Singapore relations, in the context of US-ASEAN relations, are highly beneficial to Singapore (and) United States and I think to the stability of the region as well, and long may they continue.

Thank you very much.

* * * * *