The delegation included: Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan; Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing; Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng; Permanent Secretary for Development of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Beh Swan Gin; Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Albert Chua; Singapore Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: Singapore Prime Minister's Office

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was born on February 10, 1952. He joined the Singapore Army from 1971 to 1984. In 1984, he was discharged from the army and began his political career. As a candidate for the People's Action Party (PAP), he was elected as a member of Parliament in 1984, 1988, 1991, 1997 and 2001. In 1985, he was Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Minister of State for Defence, and then Minister for Trade and Industry and Second Minister for Defence. In 1986, he was elected to the PAP Central Committee. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry in 1990; Deputy Prime Minister in 1992; Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee, in charge of both the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence in 1994. In 1998, he also held the position of Chairman of the Monetary Board of Singapore. During the period 2001-2007, he was Minister for Finance. From 2004 to present, he has been Secretary-General of the PAP and Prime Minister of Singapore.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong graduated from the University of Cambridge (UK) with a first-class honors degree in mathematics and a certificate of distinction in computer science. He holds a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School (Harvard University, USA).

VINH AN