News: The Straits Times -  16 December 2009


MM Lee gets warm Indian welcome


NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rarely steps out to greet his visitors, choosing to stay at the door when dignitaries visit him at his home.

For Mr Lee Kuan Yew, though, India's scholarly leader moved out from the porch to the front yard to receive Singapore's Minister Mentor as he alighted from his limousine. They then stepped into Dr Singh's drawing room for a tete-a-tete.

A Singapore Government spokesman said Mr Lee's talks with Dr Singh covered regional developments, global issues and how India and Singapore could enhance their bilateral relationship.

Over a lunch of chicken kebabs, rice, lentils and cauliflower, the conversation flowed. Dr Singh had assembled some of India's most powerful and brightest at his table, including Home Minister P. Chidambaram, National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan and Mr Nandan Nilekani, the chairman of the ambitious national project to give every Indian a Singapore-style unique identity number. Also present was Mr Tarun Das, former chief mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Mr Lee, who arrived on Monday night, is in New Delhi until tomorrow. The highlight of the trip is an appearance today at a Singapore Symposium organised by the Institute of South Asian Studies and CII, where Mr Lee will take questions from the floor.

His official engagements began yesterday with a call on India's External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna. Mr Krishna had spent several hours preparing for the meeting, but when he received Singapore's elder statesman at his office yesterday, he confessed he was at a loss for words.

'How does one describe you,' enthused the minister. 'I don't know what to say!' Instead, Mr Krishna chose to give Mr Lee a warm embrace.

- end of ST article