Xinhua News
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday met with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore at the White House some two weeks ahead of his visit to the southeast Asian country.
Speaking to reporters after his talks with Lee Kuan Yew, Obama spoke highly of the former Singaporean prime minister and allied relationship between the two countries.
“This is one of the legendary figures of Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries… He is somebody who helped to trigger the Asian economic miracle,” Obama said as he sat side-by-side with Lee in the Oval Office.
In response, Lee, 86, said that it was his honor to have talks with Obama at a “time of renewal and change in America, and during a period of transition where the world order is changing.”
Obama is due to visit Singapore when he takes a trip abroad that also includes Japan, China and South Korea on Nov. 12-19.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/30/content_12357770.htm