Singapore Prime Minister arrives in Hanoi, begins official visit to Vietnam

Welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong at Noi Bai International Airport. (Photo: An Dang/VNA)

On the afternoon of August 27, the plane carrying Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and the Singaporean delegation landed at Noi Bai Airport ( Hanoi ), starting an official visit to Vietnam from August 27-29 at the invitation of Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh.

Welcoming the delegation at the airport were: Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet; Director of the State Protocol Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Viet Dung and Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung.

The Singaporean side welcomed the delegation with Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam, along with a number of officials from the Singapore Embassy in Hanoi.

Accompanying the Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong on his visit to Vietnam were: Ms. Ho Ching, the Prime Minister's wife; Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan; Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing; Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng; Permanent Deputy Minister for Development of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Beh Swan Gin; Permanent Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Albert Chua; Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam and representatives of Singaporean ministries and agencies.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was born on February 10, 1952; graduated from Cambridge University (UK) with a first-class honors degree in Mathematics and a certificate with distinction in Computer Science (1974).

He holds a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School (Harvard University, USA, 1980).

Mr. Lee Hsien Loong joined the Singapore Army during the period 1971-1984.

In 1984, he was discharged from the army and began participating in political activities.

As a candidate of the People's Action Party (PAP), he was elected as a member of Parliament in 1984, 1988, 1991, 1997 and 2001.

In 1985, he was Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Minister of State for Defense, and then Minister of Trade and Industry and Second Minister of Defense.

In 1986, he was elected to the PAP Central Committee.

In 1990, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry; Deputy Prime Minister in 1992; Chairman of the Economic Committee, in charge of both the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence in 1994.

In 1998, he also held the position of Chairman of the Monetary Board of Singapore.

During the period 2001-2007, he was Minister of Finance. From 2004 to present, he is Secretary-General of the PAP and Prime Minister of Singapore.

This visit by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is his fifth visit to Vietnam as Prime Minister, demonstrating the closeness and connection between Singapore and Vietnam.

This visit is also part of a series of events organized by the two sides to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Singapore, following Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Singapore in February 2023.

During this visit, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will attend a series of important activities and events demonstrating comprehensive cooperation and mutual trust between Vietnam and Singapore./.

Viet Duc (Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

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