Trip Overview
Vice President Kamala Harris was in Singapore and Vietnam from August 22-26, 2021, to strengthen relationships and expand economic cooperation with two critical Indo-Pacific partners of the United States. During the trip, the Vice President engaged the leaders of both governments on issues of mutual interest, including regional security, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and our joint efforts to promote a rules-based international order. The Vice President also affirmed and celebrated the strong cultural and people-to-people ties between the United States and these countries.
President Biden and Vice President Harris have made it a top priority to rebuild our global partnerships and keep our nation secure, and this visit continued that work – deepening our engagement in Southeast Asia. Vice President Harris was the first Vice President to ever visit Vietnam.
- Remarks by the Vice President on the Indo-Pacific
– WATCH: Vice President Harris Delivers Remarks Where She Lays Out Her Vision for the Indo-Pacific Region - – Remarks by Vice President Harris and Prime Minister Lee of Singapore in Joint Press Conference.
- – WATCH: Vice President Harris Holds a Press Conference with Prime Minister Lee
– FACT SHEET: Strengthening the U.S.-Singapore Strategic Partnership
– Remarks by Vice President Harris at a Roundtable Discussion on the Importance of Supply Chain Resilience - – Vice President Harris visits USS Tulsa in Singapore
- – Remarks by Vice President Harris Aboard USS Tulsa
- – Recap of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Trip to Singapore
Media Coverage of Visit (Highlights)
- Washington Post: Harris meets with Singapore officials to begin Asia visit
- CNA: US Vice President Kamala Harris receives namesake orchid, official welcome at Istana
- ST: PM Lee Hsien Loong, US Vice-President Kamala Harris hail robust, enduring S’pore-US partnership
- CNA: More cybersecurity cooperation between Singapore, US in public, defence and financial sectors
- CNA: Singapore offers to help US evacuate refugees from Afghanistan using RSAF tanker-transport plane
- ST: A full day for US V-P Kamala Harris on S’pore visit, from Istana to combat ship USS Tulsa
- CNA: US stands with allies, partners in face of China’s ‘threats’, says Kamala Harris
- ST: US offers to host Apec meeting in 2023
- BT: Strengthening supply chains critical to businesses, markets: Kamala Harris
- Money FM: Analysis on Kamala Harris and Her Maiden Southeast Asia Tour (Podcast opens in browser)
- Bloomberg: What’s the Significance of Harris’s Trip to Singapore?(Video opens in browser)
- BT: (Op-Ed) Harris’s South-east Asia tour may well help her cement her VP role
Social Media Coverage of Trip
It’s been a true honor to host @VP on her first official visit to Southeast Asia. I am proud of what we have accomplished, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to deepen U.S. engagement in Singapore and across the Indo-Pacific. pic.twitter.com/fiZIIVVwfU
— Rafik Mansour (@USAmbSG) August 24, 2021
PHOTO RECAP: @VP Kamala Harris delivers remarks where she lays out her vision for the #IndoPacific region.
All photos © AP Images https://t.co/rSe5z6tTmE pic.twitter.com/WL15ueHWQd
— U.S. Embassy Singapore (@RedWhiteBlueDot) August 24, 2021
Today in Singapore, @VP Kamala Harris held a supply chain roundtable with a group of business leaders, demonstrating the importance of the U.S.-Singapore relationship on trade.
All photos © AP Images pic.twitter.com/o7y1HVsu7k
— Rafik Mansour (@USAmbSG) August 24, 2021
Vice President Harris Delivers Remarks Where She Lays Out Her Vision for the Indo-Pacific Region – August 24, 2021
A productive day in Singapore. pic.twitter.com/RxIj3fUPMw
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) August 23, 2021
PHOTO RECAP: This afternoon, @VP Harris toured Singapore’s Changi Naval Base and the @USNavy‘s littoral combat ship #USSTulsa. pic.twitter.com/0G4ECJyfPU
— U.S. Embassy Singapore (@RedWhiteBlueDot) August 23, 2021
Thank you, Prime Minister @leehsienloong, for welcoming me to the Istana, and for a productive meeting. Over the years, the U.S.-Singapore partnership has enhanced the security and prosperity of both our nations. Today, we committed to strengthening that enduring partnership. pic.twitter.com/6qIY5vftgd
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) August 23, 2021
Vice President Harris Holds a Press Conference with Prime Minister Lee – August 23, 2021
Today, @VP Kamala Harris met with Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob at the Istana. (1/5)
All photos © AP Images pic.twitter.com/tzvx5UCAet
— U.S. Embassy Singapore (@RedWhiteBlueDot) August 23, 2021
During @VP‘s visit to Singapore, the Vice President will engage on issues of mutual interest including regional security, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and our joint efforts to promote a rules-based international order.#USAinSG pic.twitter.com/g52YtFVK1i
— U.S. Embassy Singapore (@RedWhiteBlueDot) August 22, 2021
Thank you Foreign Minister @VivianBala for welcoming me to Singapore. Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific are critically important to the security and prosperity of the United States. pic.twitter.com/TZjFukDeeA
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) August 22, 2021
It’s an honor to welcome @VP to Singapore! During her trip, the Vice President will discuss how the U.S. economy and security are closely linked with Southeast Asia. https://t.co/qJ3zVvWlih pic.twitter.com/4rW2qjBh6s
— Rafik Mansour (@USAmbSG) August 22, 2021
Excited to welcome @VP Harris to Singapore tomorrow! https://t.co/49A8qlOpth
— U.S. Embassy Singapore (@RedWhiteBlueDot) August 21, 2021
Past U.S. Vice Presidential Visits to Singapore
Vice President Kamala Harris In Singapore
Photo re-cap of the Vice President's First Official Visit to Singapore
Air Force 2 touches down in Singapore
Vice President Harris arriving in Singapore
Vice President Harris with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong inspecting an honor guard
Vice President Harris with Singapore President Halimah Yacob
Signing the guest book at the Istana
Vice President Harris with the orchids named in her honor, "Papilionanda Kamala Harris"
Vice President Harris with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Cabinet officials
Vice President Harris with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Vice President Harris with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Vice President Harris with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a joint press conference
Vice President Harris at Changi Naval Base
Vice President Harris at Changi Naval Base
Vice President Harris signing photo at Changi Naval Base
Vice President Harris onboard USS Tulsa at Changi Naval Base
Vice President Harris onboard USS Tulsa at Changi Naval Base
Vice President Harris onboard USS Tulsa at Changi Naval Base
Vice President Harris onboard USS Tulsa at Changi Naval Base
Vice President Harris giving a policy speech at Gardens By The Bay
Vice President Harris giving a policy speech at Gardens By The Bay
Vice President Harris giving a policy speech at Gardens By The Bay
Roundtable with business leaders to discuss supply chain resilience
Roundtable with business leaders to discuss supply chain resilience
Roundtable with business leaders to discuss supply chain resilience
Vice President Harris's namesake orchid on display at Gardens By The Bay
Vice President Harris's namesake orchid on display at Gardens By The Bay
Vice President Harris with U.S. Embassy Singapore's Chargé d'Affaires Rafik Mansour
Vice President Harris with Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan
Vice President Harris bids Singapore farewell
About Vice President Harris
Kamala D. Harris is the Vice President of the United States of America. She was elected Vice President after a lifetime of public service, having been elected District Attorney of San Francisco, California Attorney General, and United States Senator.
My mother would look at me and she’d say, ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.’”
– Kamala Harris, January 28, 2019
Learn More about Vice President Harris
Official Biography Kamala Harris: America’s vice president A Portrait references a shattered ‘glass ceiling’Kamala D. Harris is the Vice President of the United States of America. She was elected Vice President after a lifetime of public service, having been elected District Attorney of San Francisco, California Attorney General, and United States Senator. Vice President Harris was born in Oakland, California to parents who emigrated from India and Jamaica. She graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of Law.
Kamala Harris: America’s vice president
Kamala Devi Harris, a senator who had represented California in the U.S. Congress since 2017, broke barriers when she was inaugurated as vice president of the United States on January 20. She is the first woman — and the first person of African, Jamaican and South Asian ancestry — to occupy that position.
A Portrait references a shattered ‘glass ceiling’
While Kamala Harris shattered a few glass ceilings metaphorically — becoming the first woman, the first Black American and the first South Asian American elected vice president — Swiss artist Simon Berger did it literally.
Recent High-Level Engagements with Singapore
- Press Statement from Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Republic of Singapore National Day [August 6, 2021]
- Marking U.S. Engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Its 54th Anniversary [August 6, 2021]
- Secretary Blinken’s Participation in the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting [August 6, 2021]
- Secretary Blinken’s Participation in the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting [August 4, 2021]
- The United States and ASEAN: Strategic Partners for the Indo-Pacific [August 4, 2021]
- Secretary Blinken’s Participation in the U.S.-ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting [August 4, 2021]
- Fact Sheet: S. Support for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific [August 4, 2021]
- Fact Sheet: S. Support to ASEAN in Fighting COVID-19 [August 4, 2021]
- Secretary Blinken’s Participation in ASEAN-related Ministerial Meetings August 2-6, 2021 [July 31, 2021]
- Austin Discusses Need for Indo-Pacific Partnerships in the Future [July 27, 2021]
- Austin Emphasizes Partnership in Singapore Speech [July 27, 2021]
- Joint Statement by United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Singapore Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen [July 27, 2021]
- Austin Discusses Need for Indo-Pacific Partnerships in the Future [July, 27, 21]
- Austin Arrives in Singapore to Highlight U.S. Reliability [July 26, 2021]
- Readout of President Joe Biden’s Participation in the APEC Virtual Leaders’ Retreat [July 16, 2021]
- Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with ASEAN Foreign Ministers and the ASEAN Secretary General [July 13, 2021]
- ASEAN Regional Forum Senior Officials’ Meeting [June 30, 2021]
- East Asia Summit Senior Officials’ Meeting [June 24, 2021]
- S., Singapore Navies Strengthen Partnership during Pacific Griffin 2021 [June 23, 2021]
- Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group Exercises with Republic of Singapore Navy [June 21, 2021]
- Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III’s Participation in the 8th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus [June 16, 2021]
- Readout of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. Colin Kahl’s Call with Singaporean Permanent Secretary for Defence, Chan Heng Kee [May 28, 2021]
- 34th U.S.-ASEAN Dialogue [May 6, 2021]
- Leaders Summit on Climate Summary of Proceedings [April 23, 2021]
- Fact Sheet: S. Security Cooperation With Singapore [April 20, 2021]
- President Biden Invites 40 World Leaders to Leaders Summit on Climate [March 26, 2021]
- Statement by NSC Spokesperson Emily Horne on National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Call with Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan of Singapore [February 18, 2021]
- Secretary Blinken’s Call with Singapore Foreign Minister Balakrishnan [February 9, 2021]
History of U.S.-Singapore Relations
This year, the United States and Singapore celebrate 55 years of diplomatic relations. Singapore is a longstanding partner and friend. Our two countries’ close security, economic, and people-to-people ties lie at the heart of this enduring relationship and bring strength and stability to the United States, Singapore, and the entire Indo-Pacific region. We look forward to strengthening this partnership and to deepening our cooperation on our shared interests and challenges for many more years to come.
#USSG55: History of U.S.-Singapore Relations
Fact Sheets on U.S.-Singapore Relations
See More on Social Media
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