Lee Kuan Yew concludes his three-day successful visit to Kuwait

Singapore's Minister Mentor and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who is widely credited as the architect of Singapore's economic miracle and one of Asia's most influential political leaders, on Sunday left the country for Singapore along with his accompanying delegation at the conclusion of his three-day successful visit to the state of Kuwait.

During his stay in Kuwait, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew addressed a gathering of over 300-strong audience of political figure heads, business leaders and press representatives who attended the NBK International Symposium which was held at the headquarters of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development under the auspices of H.H the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Together with an accompanying panel from Singapore and a host of other international distinguished speakers, NBK's guest - of - honor and spoke about the challenges he faced in transforming Singapore from a poor island city to a prosperous nation, urging GCC countries to derive lessons from the wealthy and thriving experience of Singapore in economic development.

Lee Kuan Yew who was visiting Kuwait for the first time on an invitation by NBK also shared with the audience his perspective on how the GCC countries can best use the region's wealth and power to safeguard their achievements and build on them to ensure prosperity for their future generation, in the context of his speech, he identified the investment opportunities in Asia, and deliberated more on the prospects of furthering cooperation between the countries of the two regions.

Following his speech, Mr. Lee held an interactive an open Question and Answer session with the delegates, where he touched upon a number of important and relevant topics.

Other featured speakers at this event included several international leading executives and business leaders, namely ; Lester Gray from Schroders, Tay Soo How from Western Asset Management, Thio Siew Hua from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Anil Anuja from 3i Asia Limited, Gerard Lee from Fullerton Fund Management and Stephen Finch from ARA Strategic Capital.

The Symposium provided a unique platform for participants and delegate members to listen live and interact with an international and visionary leader and statesman of the stature of Lee Kuan Yew.

The 0ne-day Symposium which has been prepared by NBK, aimed at bringing together a host renowned executives and business leaders from all over the world, to share their insights, strategies and success plans.

The symposium was inaugurated by CEO of NBK Mr. Ibrahim Dabdoub, who welcomed and introduced the honorable Lee Kuan Yew to the audience. In his opening remarks, Mr. Dabdoub said that Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew are two faces of the same coin, pointing out that we cannot talk about Singapore without mentioning its architect.

It is an honor and great pleasure to have with us today such a great and world-renowned leader who has devoted much of his life to promote the development and prosperity of his nation…a leader with precise vision, ample wisdom, soaring ambition, self- determination, and unwavering focus on results, he added.

Mr. Dabdoub said that NBK's aim behind holding this symposium was to highlight the opportunities available for GCC to use the surpluses generated by the current boon wisely, to tackle challenges that have held back growth in the past and invest for the future.

In his concluding remarks Mr Dabdoub said that GCC countries have in front of them a wealthy and thriving experience in economic development, the Singapore experience to draw lessons from. The Singapore approach is globally recognized, and GCC countries will certainly find in this experience the courage to change and the fruits to reap.

Singapore Minister Mentor and former Prime Minister was also the guest of honor for two banquets given in his honor: one held by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and the other was given by NBK and attended by H.H the Prime Minister and a host of eminent political and economic figures including some of NBK's prominent clients.