S'pore FM George Yeo meets key members of Obama administration
By Channel NewsAsia's Washington correspondent, Daniel Ryntjes | Posted: 29 April 2009 1433 hrs

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WASHINGTON: Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo has met with key members of US President Barack Obama's administration during a visit to Washington.

Mr Yeo and his counterparts discussed a wide range of global matters, centring on the economic and political future of Asia.

In a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, Minister Yeo focused on talks dealing with major strategic issues in Asia.

In a speech organised by the US-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) Business Council, the minister spoke about the recently postponed ASEAN meeting in Thailand.

"Unfortunately, ASEAN today looks a little patchy," he said. "The last summit that was held in Pattaya was disrupted in a manner which caused us, in ASEAN, great humiliation."

Mr Yeo emphasised the need to reconvene the abandoned ASEAN meeting. "But whatever happens, it is critical that we do not allow the ASEAN project to be derailed. It is critical to the construction of a larger architecture of peace in Asia."

US Trade Representative Ron Kirk discussed economic issues with Mr Yeo, who has been calling attention to China's plans to spend heavily on the construction of "cities of the future".

"They (China authorities) are thinking in terms of 10 to 15 super cities, each with a population of 40 to 50 million people... really the size of a major country," he said.

At the White House, he spoke with National Security Adviser James Jones, and in Congress, Mr Yeo met former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Under a new Obama administration, coming to Washington after a few months, I can sense it's a different atmosphere," said the minister. "We don't quite know what will happen, but there is a feeling that yes, things once considered not possible have become possible."

Mr Yeo said he looks forward to the visit of Mrs Clinton to the ASEAN Regional Forum and the presence of President Obama at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Singapore in November.

Whilst Mr Yeo said he predicts Asia would begin to move ahead economically as the world emerges from the current economic crisis, he also emphasised on continued American leadership globally and the US' participation in Southeast Asian affairs.

- CNA/yb