PM Lee to meet Trump on week-long visit to New York

Singapore

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong will arrive in New York on Saturday for a week-long working visit, during which he will meet US President Donald Trump and deliver Singapore's national statement at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

This will be the fourth time that Mr Lee and Mr Trump will be meeting face-to-face since the US leader took office, after earlier meetings in Singapore (June 2018), Washington (October 2017) and Hamburg (July 2017).

A statement by the Prime Minister's Office on Friday said that Mr Lee - who will be in the city until Sept 27 - is heading Singapore's delegation to the 74th session of the UNGA. This will be his first time attending the annual gathering of some 193 countries since he became prime minister back in 2004.

He is scheduled to attend a series of UN meetings including the Secretary-General's Climate Action Summit, and meet with his foreign counterparts on the sidelines of the assembly.

Mr Lee will also host a reception for members of the Forum of Small States, an informal grouping of more than 100 small countries that was launched by Singapore back in 1992.

While in the Big Apple, Mr Lee is due to receive the World Statesman Award at the 54th Appeal of Conscience Foundation awards dinner. The foundation is a US-based inter-faith organisation.

The foundation announced in April this year that Mr Lee "will be recognised for fostering a society that embraces multiculturalism in which ethnic communities maintain their unique way of life while at the same time living harmoniously".

Previous recipients of this award include former British prime minister David Cameron, former Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto and former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Mr Lee is also expected to meet industry and financial sector leaders, as well as other prominent US personalities, and attend a National Day reception with overseas Singaporeans living in the US.

Accompanying the prime minister in New York are Mrs Lee, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, and government officials.

After his New York visit, Mr Lee will head to Armenia for an official visit from Sept 28 to Oct 1. This will be the first visit by a Singapore Prime Minister to the Eurasian country.

During Mr Lee's absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will be Acting Prime Minister from Sept 21 to 30, while Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan will stand in from Oct 1-2.