SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he had a “good meeting” with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Tuesday (Nov 16), the first day of her two-day visit to Singapore.
Both sides discussed potential collaboration in areas like the digital and green economy and supply chain resilience, “to address current issues and create opportunities for our peoples”, he said in a Facebook post.
Mr Lee said economic relations between Singapore and the US have “deepened despite COVID-19”.
These ties are underpinned by the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the recently signed Partnership for Growth and Innovation, he said.
The Partnership for Growth and Innovation was signed last month by Ms Raimondo and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong during his visit to the US.
“As we gradually reopen borders and resume people-to-people connectivity, I look forward to working with the US to strengthen economic recovery from the pandemic,” added Mr Lee.
Singapore is the second stop on Ms Raimondo’s first official visit to Asia since she took office in March.
Her trip started in Tokyo, where Japanese and US officials on Monday agreed to start discussions on additional tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration on Japanese steel and aluminium imports.
Ms Raimondo will start the final leg of her visit in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
In Singapore, she will participate in the Bloomberg New Economy Forum and a “Women in Tech: Seizing Opportunities in the Digital Economy” event with business leaders.
She is also expected to meet with New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor and Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan while in Singapore.
They will discuss “cooperation in developing an Indo-Pacific economic framework”, according to the US Department of Commerce.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the US.
Ms Raimondo’s visit is the third time a US official at the Cabinet level or higher has visited Singapore this year.
Vice President Kamala Harris made a three-day visit to Singapore in August, a month after another official visit by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III.
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