Vice Presidential Pool Reports of August 24, 2021

VP Travel Pool #13 background preview Harris speech

On background from a White House Official:

Tomorrow in Singapore, the Vice President will deliver remarks at the Gardens by the Bay, where she will lay out her vision for the Indo-Pacific region. She will focus on 3 primary areas: 1) Security, 2) Economic partnerships, and 3) Global health.

• The Vice President will discuss a theme she has discussed many times before – she believes we are embarking on a new era. Our world is more interconnected and interdependent than ever before, therefore, the only way to move forward is together.
• She will say that our partnerships in Singapore and throughout the Indo-Pacific are a top priority for our nation because we are stronger when we work together.
• She will outline areas where our partnerships have worked well in the past, and where they will go in the future.
• She will discuss our work to end the pandemic and save lives; the global economy and the importance of freedom of commerce and open waterways; and she will discuss the benefits of our security presence and partnerships in the region.
• She will make clear that we are a proud part of the Indo-Pacific and also emphasize her vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
• Overall, she will make clear that the United States remains fully committed to our enduring engagement in this region.

Additionally, tomorrow the Vice President will host a roundtable with Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry and leaders from the private sector to highlight the importance of supply chain resilience, the value of cooperation with allies and partners on supply chains, and the impact supply chains have on American families. This follows up on her meeting with Prime Minister Lee and the Supply Chain dialogue they announced.

• She will discuss how the pandemic exacerbated supply chain disruptions, illuminating the interconnectedness of our countries. From PPE, to semiconductor chips, supply chain issues affect the people of the U.S., Singapore, and other countries around the globe.
• The Vice President will call on our nations to work together to end and prevent supply chain shortages, and she will solicit views and ideas from the public and private sector on how to best move forward.

Recap

Tomorrow's events follow productive meetings that occurred today between the Vice President and Singaporean officials. The Vice President announced several key deliverables – here are highlights:

• On the economy:
  • The Vice President and Prime Minister Lee launched the U.S.-Singapore Dialogue on Supply Chains and the U.S.-Singapore Partnership for Growth and Innovation.
• On climate change:
  • The Vice President announced the launch of the U.S.-Singapore Climate Partnership. She also announced an expansion in our collaboration on Smart Cities and a new climate element to the U.S.-Singapore Third Country Training Program.
• On security:
  • She announced deliverables about recommencing rotational deployments.
• On global health:
  • The U.S. and Singapore agreed to work together to increase pandemic preparedness, that the U.S. is committed to deepening our research on treatments.
• On cybersecurity:
  • Our countries finalized 3 agreements that will expand cybersecurity cooperation.
• On space:
  • The Vice President announced the two countries agreed to expand bilateral cooperation.

While at Changi Naval Base, the Vice President received a briefing from Singaporean defense officials on the U.S. Singapore defense relationship and toured the USS Tulsa. She met with U.S. sailors aboard the USS Tulsa and delivered remarks.

• In her remarks, she thanked the sailors for their courage and their commitment to representing the best ideals of our country. She emphasized how the Indo-Pacific is critical to the security and the prosperity of the United States. She spoke about how our country has deep and enduring strategic interests in the region, and that is why our security presence matters, and why are partnerships matter.

VP Travel Pool #14 Arrival for VP Singapore Speech/Speech excerpts

Good morning from a very rainy Singapore. Zolan Kanno-Youngs here for pool duty subbing in for the WSJ's Tarini Parti.

Motorcade began to depart the Shangri-La Hotel at 9:41 local time for Gardens by the Bay, a climate-controlled botanical garden in downtown. We then stopped at the security checkpoint of the hotel until 10:02. A woman in a Harris campaign T-shirt was spotted near the exit of the hotel trying to get the attention of the motorcade. We arrived at 10:16 a.m.

Pool was moved to the indoor Flower Field Room, where the Vice President will give a speech "making the case as to why our partnerships matter, and, in particular, our partnerships in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific," according to a senior administration official. There are a couple dozen people in the crowd. Two flags for the U.S. and two for Singapore stand behind the podium. Will post photos on my Twitter (@KannoYoungs).

The vice president will be welcomed by Dean Danny Quah of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, according to the vice president's office. Dean Quah will then introduce Ambassador at Large Chan Heng Chee to the stage, who will introduce the VP.

The VP's remarks can be streamed here: WhiteHouse.gov/Live.

The vice president will then hold a supply chain roundtable. Please see below for excerpts of the VP's speech.

On background from a White House Official:

Today in Singapore, the Vice President will deliver remarks at the Gardens by the Bay, where she will lay out her vision for the Indo-Pacific region. She will focus on 3 primary areas: 1) Security, 2) Economic partnerships, and 3) Global health.

• The Vice President will discuss a theme she has discussed many times before – she believes we are embarking on a new era. Our world is more interconnected and interdependent than ever before, therefore, the only way to move forward is together.
• She will say that our partnerships in Singapore and throughout the Indo-Pacific are a top priority for our nation because we are stronger when we work together.
• She will outline areas where our partnerships have worked well in the past, and where they will go in the future.
• She will discuss our work to end the pandemic and save lives; the global economy and the importance of freedom of commerce and open waterways; and she will discuss the benefits of our security presence and partnerships in the region.
• She will make clear that we are a proud part of the Indo-Pacific and also emphasize her vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
• Overall, she will make clear that the United States remains fully committed to our enduring engagement in this region.

VP Travel Pool #15 -- End of Speech

VP began speaking at 10:42 am and finished at 10:58 am. Each attendee seemed to be spaced out by at least two feet. We are now holding in a media room until the supply chain roundtable.

From the VP office:

Crowd count: about 100 people.

The audience is comprised of senior government officials, leading think tank representatives, prominent academics, and businesspersons.

VP Travel Pool #16 --Supply Chain Roundtable/Transcript

Pool was escorted into the Water View Room of Gardens by the Bay in downtown Singapore at 11:42 am for a supply chain roundtable with a group of business leaders (participants down below). We were escorted out at 11:54 am.

The vice president was seated at the top of the round table with two U.S. flags and two flags of Singapore behind her. Each person at the table wore a mask -- the vice president donned a black mask. The vice president had a couple notebooks, a black folder and multiple documents in front of her.

A digital clock was stationed at the foot of the opposite side of the table, apparently counting down from 50 minutes.

Before turning it over to the vice president, Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei, the chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and moderator of the discussion, said, "on behalf of the companies joining us here as well as the American business community I represent, we appreciate this opportunity to discuss how we can address supply chain disruptions to help make lives around the world better."

A couple highlights from the vice president's remarks:

"Here at the table we have leaders who are regional leaders, who are global leaders who represent many aspects of the supply chain issue," Ms. Harris said.

"We remember how difficult it was, particularly in the beginning of the pandemic to get basic needs via PPE or basic household supplies," Ms. Harris said. "We know for many reasons there are shortages around the world and in that way the United States was not unique in its experience."

Harris also said the Delta variant has forced manufacturers to adjust production. She said if you want to buy Christmas presents for your children, now might be the time to start buying them.

Climate change has also hindered production, including typhoons disrupting shipping lanes.

She referenced the new partnership announced with the Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday, the US Singapore Partnership for Growth and Innovation. It will involve the United States Department of Commerce collaborating with the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore

Gan Kim Yong, the minister of trade and industry, then spoke for a few minutes. "Madam Vice President, we must acknowledge that there are limits and challenges to what a country can do. For example, electronics and semiconductor supply chains are complex and need to be globally enjoined.

Here's a full link to an Otter transcript. Please check quotes.

>https://otter.ai/u/b_FrZ7JbcF_87TkRI81CQoiXqTY<

Full list of participants below via the VP's office.

VP
Dr. Hsein-Hsien Lei (CEO American Chamber of Commerce Singapore) (moderator)
Gan Kim Yong (Minister for Trade and Industry)
Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara (CEO Temasek International)
Deborah Ho (Country Head, BlackRock)
Kevin McGuigan (Vice President and Managing Director, 3M Southeast Asia)
Scott Price (President, UPS International)
Tan Yew Kong (Vice President and Managing Director, GlobalFoundries Singapore)
Karthik Natarajan (Vice President, P&G)
Chargé d'Affaires Rafik Mansour

VP Travel Pool # 17 — VP office statement on APEC

Forwarding along from the VP office …

Statement by Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson Symone Sanders on U.S. Offering to Host APEC

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced in Singapore that the United States is offering to host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2023. This demonstrates the importance the United States places on the region and multilateral cooperation. APEC is the premier platform for advancing regional economic policies to promote inclusive and sustainable growth.The United States remains committed to expanding and deepening economic ties within APEC for the benefit of the American people and our partners.

VP Travel Pool #18 -- Tour of Orchids// Back to hotel

At about 12:38 p.m., the vice president exited the Flower Field Room of Singapore's Gardens By the Bay to receive a tour of the Flower Dome by Felix Loh, the chief executive of the climate-controlled botanical garden.

"Oh, this is extraordinary," Harris said as she walked downstairs to the orchids. The Gardens By the Bay website says the Flower Dome is equivalent to 75 Olympic-sized pools and covered with more than 3,300 glass panels.

Mr. Loh led the vice president to the Papilionanda Kamala Harris, an orchid named after the vice president. Just behind that was Singapore's national flower. As the vice president leaned in to observe the flower named for her, Mr. Loh said, "I hope you're happy with the orchid."

"Oh, I truly am," Ms. Harris replied.

The vice president then turned to the press after hearing a reporter's shouted question about her meeting on supply chain issues.

"Ultimately we need to think of it in the context of a national priority around security. In addition to that there is the issue that is about productivity," Ms. Harris said. "A large part of the emphasis for me and then the discussion was about what it means in terms of the needs of families but also the needs of workers. So there was a great deal of conversation also about workplace safety and what do we do to protect workers in the context of for example COVID, where we have production lines. And we want to make sure the production continues but not at the expense of worker safety."

The pool was then escorted out as reporters shouted additional questions, including at least one on the August Afghanistan deadline.

We left Gardens By the Bay at 12:53 and arrived at the Shangri-La hotel after an uneventful ride at 1:15 PM.

VP Travel Pool # 19 — Delayed Departure

After the pool was escorted into the motorcade to depart Shangri-La hotel for the Paya Lebar Air Base, the vice president's staff called the press back into the Shangri-La shortly after 3:30 P.M. We had been waiting in the motorcade for roughly 40 minutes.

We are now back in the hotel and have been told to wait until the VP's team circles back with us. I will notify you of any reason for the delay as soon as I hear back from the VP's office.

VP Travel Pool #20 — heading to the airport

More than three hours after the pool was called back into into their hotel rooms in the Shangri-La hotel, we are back in the motorcade and departing to Paya Lebar Air Base at 6:42 PM. We were originally scheduled to take off to Vietnam at 4 PM.

We were previously told by the VP's office we would be briefed in the motorcade. I will circle back ASAP once we have something.