Vietnamese leaders extended condolences to their Singaporean counterparts over the death of the former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on March 23.

Former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Nguyen Phu Trong sent condolences to Secretary-General of the People’s Action Party Lee Hsien Loong, while State President Truong Tan Sang conveyed his sympathy to President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung passed his condolences to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over the loss.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also expressed his sympathies to Singaporean Foreign Minister K Shanmugam.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore, former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew passed away early on March 23 at the age of 91.

Lee Kuan Yew was the founding Prime Minister of Singapore and father of the current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He has been widely credited with turning Singapore into one of the most affluent economies in Asia within three decades.

He was Singapore ’s Prime Minister from 1959 to 1990 and is considered a highly influential politician in the island nation.