U.S. President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One upon his arrival at Singapore's Paya Lebar Air Base November 14, 2009 

Statement by

White House National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer:

On November 15 President Obama met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee and discussed a range of bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

The President thanked the Prime Minister for the tremendous role Singapore played as chair of APEC this past year and as host for the first ever meeting United States - ASEAN leaders meeting.
With Singapore, the United States has developed an open and inclusive framework of cooperation on pressing issues, including regional security, economic recovery, and non-proliferation. The United States welcomes Singapore as a partner in building a more prosperous and secure region.

Singapore serves as a critical trading hub in the region, and we commend Singapore’s commitment to counterproliferation efforts. As the first country in the region to sign on to the Proliferation Security Initiative, Singapore is working to expand the reach and membership of this important tool to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. In recognition of Singapore’s strategic role, President Obama has invited Prime Minister Lee to attend the Global Nuclear Summit in Washington next year, as part of an international effort to address this most immediate and extreme threat to global security.
In today's meeting, the President discussed the importance of the endorsement of the balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth goals of APEC, together with our commitment to regional economic integration and free trade. Singapore is a leader in all these areas. Each year U.S. companies invest tens of millions of dollars in Singapore, and in the five years since our FTA went into effect, trade between our countries has grown more than 74 per cent.

The President and Prime Minister also exchanged views on Burma, climate change proposals in the run up to Copenhagen, and new proposals to deepen U.S. engagement with ASEAN. The common thread in all aspects of the discussion was the reaffirmation of our shared interests and the desire to continue cooperatively address regional and global challenges.