InterContinental New York Barclay
New York, New York
3:51 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. We are close friends with Singapore and with Prime Minister Lee, and we’ve gotten to know each other very well.
And we’re signing a memorandum of defense — really, an understanding. And it’s a very strong understanding. We know where we are. We have an extraordinary relationship with Singapore and with the Prime Minister.
And we’re going to be — there’ll be a lot of — a lot of trade involved in our agreement today. We’re going to be doing a lot of trade, a lot of military equipment, et cetera, et cetera. So I just want to thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. And great honor to be with you. It’s a great honor.
PRIME MINISTER LEE: Thank you.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER LEE: I would like to thank the President for signing this memorandum with me, updating our memorandum on defense cooperation between Singapore and the United States. We’ve had this since 1990.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Right.
PRIME MINISTER LEE: We’ve updated it once before in 2005, and we’re very happy to update it once more to extend for the next 15 years at least.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: That’s right.
PRIME MINISTER LEE: It reflects our very good cooperation in defense matters between the United States and Singapore, and also the broader cooperation we have in so many other fields — in security, in economics, in counterterrorism, and in culture and education, as well.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: That’s right.
PRIME MINISTER LEE: So we are very happy with our relationship. We hope to grow it. And we hope that it will also be a means for the U.S. to deepen its engagement in Southeast Asia and in the Asia Pacific region.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Very good. Well, it’s an honor. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER LEE: Thank you. Now we sign.
(The memorandum of understanding is signed.)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Okay, thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.) We’re going to see you — we’re going to see you in the other room. We’ll see you in the other room. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER LEE: Thank you.
END
3:53 P.M. EDT
