While most of us were sleeping, U.S. President Donald Trump received Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House in Washington D.C. in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

In joint remarks given at the Rose Garden after their "four eye" meeting at the Oval Office, PM Lee announced that Trump will swing by Singapore next year for a visit.

This was confirmed by PM Lee, who announced this in a Facebook post:

"Held a Joint Press Conference with President Donald J. Trump this afternoon in the White House’s Rose Garden. Singapore and the U.S. are partners in many areas, but above all we are warm friends, as we have been for 51 years. I expressed my hope that the U.S. will continue engaging the Asia Pacific, and extended an invitation to President Trump to visit us, which he has accepted. Long may our friendship continue!   – LHL"

All seemed well, too — in their remarks, Trump and PM Lee listed the many ways in which Singapore and America help each other's economies:

• Singapore is the second-largest Asian investor in the U.S. with more than US$70 billion in stock investments
• Total trade in goods and services amounted to more than US$68 billion last year
• The U.S.'s trade surplus with Singapore currently stands at US$18 billion
• Singaporeans might be among the highest per-capita buying American customers in the world, with each of us spending an average of US$7,500 on stuff ranging from iPhones to golf clubs and consulting services, every year.
• More than 4,000 American companies operate in Singapore today
• They had just witnessed a US$13.8 billion contract signing between Singapore Airlines and Boeing for the purchase of 39 planes (deal!)

And also in defence:

• Singapore has for years hosted USAF (U.S. Air Force) and navy aircraft and ships on rotational deployment
• The U.S. hosts 1,000 Singaporean personnel in detachment every year
• Singapore was the first ASEAN nation to join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shaam (ISIS)
• Singapore sent four Chinooks to support the transport of personnel and critical resources during the Hurricane Harvey crisis in August
• Singapore helped out the U.S. when the USS John McCain collision happened in Singapore's waters

Not to mention the common values shared in terms of:

• a strong commitment to the rule of law, IP protections and fair and reciprocal trade
• a belief in the power of private enterprise to uplift the human condition
• a commitment to counter the threat of North Korea and also
• the support of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

And we must also bear in mind that they'll be meeting again next month, twice — once in Vietnam, for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, followed by the ASEAN summit and 40th anniversary celebrations of U.S.-ASEAN relations in the Philippines, both of which Trump will be attending during his round of Asia visits.

But yeah, despite that, PM Lee announced in his speech that Trump will come again to visit us at the "earliest opportunity".

We'll let you know when we find out when The Donald will land.

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Top photo via Getty Images