PM Lawrence Wong and former US president Bill Clinton discuss global and regional issues
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PM Lawrence Wong and ESM Goh Chok Tong with former US president Bill Clinton on May 21.
PHOTO: LAWRENCE WONG/ FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and former US president Bill Clinton had an insightful exchange on global and regional developments during a meeting on May 21.
In a Facebook post, PM Wong said he thanked Mr Clinton for his strong support of US-Singapore ties during his time in office.
He said: “He worked closely with then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to lay the groundwork for the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement – a landmark deal that set the gold standard for future FTAs and remains a pillar of our bilateral ties.”
PM Wong’s Facebook post also included a photo of him and Mr Clinton with Mr Goh, who is now Emeritus Senior Minister.
Mr Clinton, who is in Singapore to attend an event organised by Swiss investment bank UBS, was US president from 1993 to 2001.
ESM Goh in 2000 famously proposed playing an impromptu game of golf with Mr Clinton at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation dinner in Brunei. After the game, they had drinks and the free trade deal was struck. It was ratified in 2003.
In 2015, Mr Clinton led a high-level delegation to Singapore to attend the funeral of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. American statesman Henry Kissinger, who had a close friendship with Mr Lee, also made the trip.
PM Wong, in his Facebook post, said: “Singapore and the US continue to share many areas of strategic cooperation. We look forward to deepening this partnership in the years ahead.”
