SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday (Oct 28) expressed his condolences over the death of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang, calling him a “statesman who served his country with great dedication”.
Mr Li died of a heart attack on Friday, aged 68, about seven months after retiring from a decade in office.
“Under his leadership, China overcame many challenges, pressed on with reform and opening-up, and achieved economic development that dramatically improved the lives of the Chinese people,” Mr Lee wrote in a letter to China’s Premier Li Qiang.
He noted that he first met the former premier in 2005 in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, and worked closely with him over the years to strengthen the partnership between Singapore and China.
“I warmly recall his official visit to Singapore as premier in 2018, which gave our bilateral cooperation a timely boost,” said Mr Lee.