President Reuven Rivlin hosted his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, at his residence today (Wednesday). This is the first time a Prime Minister of Singapore has visited Israel.
During a speech on the occasion, President Rivlin expressed Israel's appreciation of Singapore's heritage, and said it was his honor to attend the funeral of the Prime Minister's father, Singapore's first President Lee Kuan Yew, in 2015. He noted the good relations between the two countries, which were part of the legacy of the late President Lee Kuan Yew. "The relationship between our two countries are solid and we greatly appreciate this," he said.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, thanked the President for his warm words and said, "I am happy and proud to be here." The Prime Minister went on thank thank the President for his attendance at his father's funeral, and said, "I am confident that your attendance at the funeral has influenced the relations between our countries and our people and has also increased the mutual appreciation between us. Our bi-lateral relationship began almost with the establishment of Singapore as an independent state, and has since evolved in many areas - security, education, high-tech, culture, etc. and we hope that we can expand on this as well."