The historic summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore was good publicity for our nation.

The Republic proved to the world that despite its small size, it could take on a gigantic task and do it smoothly and successfully.

The tangible and intangible benefits to Singapore in the form of tourists, trade and investments in the years ahead would be enormous.

Hence, the $20 million cost was not profligate spending.

I thank and salute Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for his courage and acumen in taking on the challenge to host the meeting, despite the risk of bad publicity if things had gone wrong.

I also appreciate the people in the various departments and ministries who put in extra hours of work to ensure the success of the summit.

Singapore has hosted other landmark meetings before, such as that between China and Taiwan.

With these experiences, I am sure Singapore is now ready to host any summit, no matter how difficult or sensitive it may be. The country has the determination and the people skills to do it.

Pavithran Vidyadharan