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US President Donald Trump meets Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana

<span>President Donald Trump shakes hands as he meets with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ahead of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Monday, June 11, 2018, in Singapore. (Photo: AP)</span>
President Donald Trump shakes hands as he meets with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ahead of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Monday, June 11, 2018, in Singapore. (Photo: AP)

US President Donald Trump met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for a private meeting at the Istana late Monday morning (11 June).

Trump arrived in Singapore on Sunday night ahead of his eagerly anticipated summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Capella Hotel in Sentosa on Tuesday.

The meeting between Trump and Lee was followed by expanded bilateral meetings and a working lunch.

Trump thanked Lee for Singapore’s hosting of the summit and expressed the US’ continued commitment to engage the region.

He accepted the invitation from President Halimah Yacob to make a state visit to Singapore in November, in conjunction with the 6th Asean-US Summit and 13th East Asia Summit.

Among the members of Trump’s team are Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. Lee was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran and other officials.

Lee met Kim at the Istana on Sunday evening to discuss bilateral ties, and developments in the Korean peninsula and the region.

Trump will also meet staff from the US embassy in Singapore on Monday afternoon, the White House said on Sunday.

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