It’s the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Singapore, and President Barack Obama decided to celebrate it by personally inviting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over for a hang.
Not just any hangout — it was a proper State Dinner at the White House, and the first official visit by a Singaporean prime minister since 1985. Both President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greeted PM Lee and his wife Ho Ching at 9am in a super-grand welcome in Washington.
“It’s an opportunity for me to repay the hospitality the Prime Minister and the people of Singapore showed me when I visited Singapore during my first year in office,” said President Obama in his speech at the arrival ceremony. Praises were showered, deals were made, awkward moments abounded — and the state visit is pretty much wrapped up now. In case of TL;DR, here are some highlights:
President Obama greets the audience in Singapore’s four languages
President Obama mispronounces ‘Lee Kuan Yew’
President Obama is impressed by PM Lee’s mad skills in coding (he coded a Sudoku solver in C++)
President Obama understanding the concept of Rojak
Here’s a shot of PM Lee hamming it up for the cameras
An orchid is named after the Obamas
The Dendorium Barack and Michelle Obama was unveiled — a hybrid of breeds native to Singapore and Hawaii, where President Obama was born. “It is a fitting tribute to America’s first Pacific President, and a beautiful symbol of the flourishing ties between our countries,” said PM Lee.
PM Lee and President Obama push for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership
President Barack Obama and Singapore’s prime minister on Tuesday made sales pitches for a Pacific Rim trade deal that both U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have derided, and that has been stalled in Congress.
Aiming to keep alive hopes for a post-election congressional vote in the closing weeks of 2016 in favour of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Obama said its merits would overcome fierce criticism on the campaign trail.
The TPP, which counts Singapore and the United States among its signatories, along with countries such as Japan, Mexico and Vietnam, faces a tough fight in Congress. Many lawmakers there are also running for re-election in November and face a rising tide of anti-free-trade sentiment driven by manufacturing job losses.
Singapore vows to increase contribution to multinational coalition against ISIS
“We in Southeast Asia are very concerned about this, because the terrorists are active in many countries in the region. Several hundred, perhaps a thousand from Southeast Asia are in the Middle East fighting ISIS, and we have witnessed attacks in both Indonesia and Malaysia that were mounted by ISIS followers under orders from ISIS operatives in the Middle East to launch attacks in their home countries.
“So the efforts to counter ISIL or ISIS are crucial, and that’s why Singapore is a member of the coalition, and we are making a modest contribution to the efforts, and we are going to be sending a medical team to Iraq.”
Here’s the full press conference
Some awkward stumbling on the steps before the State Dinner
Here’s a shot of PM Lee and Ho Ching looking real troubled, for some reason, beside the Obamas
Tabitha Nauser and Shigga Shay perform at the White House after party
Cool, local music represent. Just, for the love of all that is good, don’t perform anything this cringeworthy:
PM Lee takes over the White House Instagram account
…and vice versa
Here’s a 360-degree panorama view of the State Dinner
Here’s a shot of President Obama raising a toast to PM Lee
“We were tempted to offer each of you a “Singapore Sling” or some chili crab. However, for those of you who know its unmistakable scent — which never seems to go away — you’ll understand why we are not serving a fruit known as durian here in the White House.
Prime Minister Lee, when you were sworn in again last year, you spoke of the shared purpose that animates the people of Singapore — “each of us giving of our best, united by our shared ideals, our faith in this nation, and our belief that here we can build something special together”. What is true of Singapore is true of the relationship between our two countries.
And so as Singapore prepares to celebrate its National Day, and 50 years into a shared journey with the United States, I propose a toast. To Prime Minister and Mrs Lee, and to the friendship and partnership between our peoples, let’s continue to build something special together. Onward, Singapore — Majulah Singapura. Onward, America. Cheers. Yam seng.”
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