Spain mourns death of Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore

USPA NEWS - The Government of Spain was deeply saddened to receive the news of the death of the former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, and pays tribute to the statesman who, over the course of his long term serving as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1990.

Lee Kuan Yew achieved cohesion among his fellow citizens and garnered respect from his international partners. The work of Lee Kuan Yew in government facilitated the transformation of Singapore into an economic and financial centre of global importance and a benchmark in the Asia-Pacific region. He was one of the leaders who created the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which over almost 50 years in existence has helped make South-east Asia a region of peace and stability, and improve the quality of life of its people.

Above all, Lee Kuan Yew was a statesman whose ideas had a profound influence on Asia-Pacific development and served as a benchmark for many other statesmen. During the time in which Lee Kuan Yew served as leader, the foundations were built for the close bilateral relations that Spain and Singapore happily enjoy today. The quality of these relations was most recently reflected in the visit by his son and current Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, to whom the Government of Spain offers its sincere condolences on the death of his father.