Visiting US Speaker Nancy Pelosi meets Singapore leaders

SINGAPORE: A United States delegation led by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi called on President Halimah Yacob and met other Singapore leaders on Monday (Aug 1) as part of her visit to Asia.

Both sides affirmed the excellent and longstanding partnership between Singapore and the US, said Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a press statement.

"They discussed the close educational and people-to-people ties between the two countries and welcomed the expansion of bilateral cooperation in new and forward-looking areas such as climate change," said MFA.

"They also exchanged views on ways to foster greater social cohesion in Singapore and the US."

Ms Pelosi, who led a six-member delegation on a two-day visit to Singapore, also met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan at the Istana.

According to MFA, Mr Lee and the Congressional delegation "affirmed the deep and multi-faceted partnership between Singapore and the US, underpinned by robust cooperation across the defence, security and economic spheres".

Mr Lee welcomed the commitment expressed by the Congressional delegation for strong US engagement in the region, said MFA, adding that both sides discussed ways to deepen Washington's economic engagement through initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

In addition, Mr Lee and the delegation exchanged views on key international and regional developments, including the war in Ukraine, cross-strait relations and climate change.

Mr Lee also highlighted the importance of stable US-China relations for regional peace and security, added MFA.

Meetings were also held with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Following his meeting with Ms Pelosi, Mr Wong said in a Facebook post that both sides "affirmed the close and long-standing bilateral partnership", as well as the "crucial role of the United States in providing the framework for regional peace, stability and progress".

Mr Wong also said that Singapore looked forward to deepening cooperation with the US in many areas including the green economy, sustainable finance and the digital economy.

"We are grateful for our many friends in Congress, who play an important role in strengthening ties between Singapore and the United States," he added.

During her trip to Asia, Ms Pelosi is scheduled to make stops in Malaysia, South Korea and Japan to reaffirm US commitment to the region. There is no word on whether she will visit Taiwan.