Finance Minister Lawrence Wong was in the U.S. from Apr. 16 to Apr. 25.

During his trip there, he met the President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Marcus Pleyer, the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, and the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak.

In a Facebook post put up on Apr. 23, Wong said that he met these leaders while attending the FATF Ministerial Meeting.

The FATF is an international watchdog headquartered in Paris for money laundering and terrorism financing.

Wong was accompanied by Raja Kumar, who will assume the post of FATF president in July, in a first for Singapore.

Raja is Senior Advisor (International) at the Ministry of Home Affairs and is the current head of Singapore’s delegation to the FATF. He has served in this capacity since Jan. 1, 2015.

Wong added, "Together with the members of FATF, Singapore will continue to play our part in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing."

Met multiple members of the Biden Administration

Apart from the FATF Ministerial Meeting, Wong also met the U.S. Deputy Treasury of the Secretary, Wally Adeyemo, and gave a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington D.C. on Apr. 18 regarding inflation.

Other members of the Biden Administration Wong met included the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, regarding economic cooperation and inflation management, as well as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, on the importance of the U.S.' continued engagement with the region.

In addition, Wong attended the Second Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (FMCBG) under the 2022 G20 Indonesian Presidency.

Also met Singaporeans living in New York

Wong also shared about his meeting with Singaporeans living in New York.

The minister further noted that this was the first physical networking gathering by the Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

In a post put up on Apr. 26, Wong summed up his trip as such:

"So I was glad to fly our flag overseas, to reaffirm relations with our international counterparts, and discuss new areas of cooperation ranging from the economy, to sustainability and innovation.

All of these will help strengthen our ties with the world, and attract more opportunities for our people - especially as we reopen post-pandemic, and as we chart our new way forward."

https://mothership.sg/2022/04/lawrence-wong-us-g20-imf/

Top photos via Lawrence Wong Facebook