PM Lee to meet President Donald Trump at White House on Oct 23

In August, PM Lee spoke to President Trump and expressed his sympathies over the loss of life in Hurricane Harvey.

PM Lee and President Trump
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during the bilateral meeting st the G20 leaders summit in Hamburg, Germany July 8, 2017. Reuters

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is all set to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Oct 23, the White House press secretary said in a statement on Tuesday.

"President Donald J Trump will welcome Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore to the White House on October 23, 2017," the statement said.

According to the statement, President Trump is looking forward to reaffirm the relationship between the United States and Singapore, which has been one of America's closest partners in Asia for more than 50 years.

"The President and Prime Minister will discuss ways to further strengthen our economic, political, security and people-to-people ties, and work to advance United States engagement and mutual interests throughout the Indo-Pacific region," the statement added.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Hamburg, Germany for the last time. During their meeting in July, Trump had said: "We have a very big relationship now and it will probably get much bigger."

However, in August, PM Lee spoke to President Trump and expressed his sympathies over the loss of life in Hurricane Harvey. He had also offered Singapore's Chinook helicopters based in Texas to assist the authorities in disaster relief efforts.

This upcoming visit of PM Lee has been scheduled just ahead of Trump's planned trip to Asia in early November. He is expected to make stops in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines during this trip.

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