WASHINGTON - MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew began the second leg of his US trip by calling on two key Cabinet members of the Obama administration - top diplomat Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Meeting Mrs Clinton at the State Department on Monday afternoon, Mr Lee said his 10-day visit came at a critical moment when the United States was looking to further engage South-east and East Asia.

'I have come at a very important moment in America,' added the Minister Mentor, who first arrived in New York last week before travelling to Washington, DC on Sunday.

'It is a time for renewal and resumption of the engagement of America, in particular in South-east Asia and East Asia. It is the part of the world that will alter the shape of the 21st century.'

Agreeing, Mrs Clinton said with a laugh that they in the administration indeed 'have our work cut out for us here'.

In about two weeks' time, President Barack Obama will embark on a major visit to Asia, his first since taking office, as well as attend the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Singapore.

Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.