US congressional delegation calls on PM Wong, DPM Gan during 4-day visit

SINGAPORE – A congressional delegation from the US called on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as well as Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong during their four-day visit to Singapore between Feb 19 and 22.

The delegation also visited Changi Naval Base on Feb 21, where they were hosted by Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad.

Led by the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, Representative Jimmy Panetta from California, the delegation was also hosted to lunch by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement.

During their meetings, PM Wong and Dr Maliki reaffirmed with their US guests the longstanding, substantive and multifaceted bilateral relationship between Singapore and the US, which is underpinned by strong defence and economic cooperation.

The partnership has been broadened to include emerging areas such as space and civil nuclear energy, as well as critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology, said MFA.

The congressional delegation included Representative Salud Carbajal, a Democrat from California, and Representative Darin LaHood, a Republican from Illinois.

In a Facebook post on Feb 20, PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, said Singapore is a regular host of US congressional delegations, which reflects the Republic’s strong and longstanding partnership with the US that is built on common interests and a deep reservoir of mutual trust.

“We had a good discussion on global developments, as well as the many areas of bilateral cooperation between our two countries,” said PM Wong of the meeting.

Meanwhile, DPM Gan and the US delegation discussed the importance of deepening US economic engagement of the region during their meeting, as well as potential cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as the digital economy and energy.

DPM Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, highlighted the strong and mutually beneficial economic ties between Singapore and the US, and noted that the US has enjoyed a consistent trade surplus with Singapore for the past 20 years, said MFA.

Singapore is also the third largest Asian investor in the US, and a hub and growth destination for many US companies. Bilateral trade and investment between the two countries support around 350,000 American jobs, noted MFA.

During their visit to Changi Naval Base, the delegation toured the Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) Information Fusion Centre and the Counter-Terrorism Information Facility, where they were briefed on the RSN’s operations and Singapore’s efforts to strengthen multilateral cooperation in tackling maritime security and terrorism threats.

The delegation was also briefed on the various ways in which Singapore has been supporting the US’ regional presence, and visited the US Navy littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords that is berthed here as part of its rotational deployment to Singapore.

Mr Zaqy reaffirmed the significant and longstanding defence relationship between Singapore and the US during the visit. He also expressed Singapore’s gratitude for the US Congress’ continued support for the SAF’s overseas training and technology needs.

The congressional delegation expressed appreciation for Singapore’s strong and consistent support for the US presence in the region, and in particular for facilitating its use of facilities in Singapore, said the Ministry of Defence in its statement.

In a Facebook post following the visit to Changi, Mr Zaqy said he appreciated such opportunities to deepen ties and strengthen cooperation between Singapore and the US, and hoped that the delegation found their visit to Singapore fruitful.