Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has been presented with a traditional gift horse, as part of the ongoing Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj presented horses to leaders during the ASEM meeting, and Mr Lee said he has named his horse Bintang Temasek (Star of Temasek) in his Facebook page on Saturday (Jul 16).
"Horses play an important role in the lift of Mongols and are revered in Mongolian culture," he wrote on a separate Instagram post on the same day. "There is a saying that 'A Mongol without a horse is like a bird without the wings'."
Mr Lee added that he will be not taking his horse back to Singapore though, saying Bintang Temasek "will be much happier on the wide plains of Mongolia".
At the ASEM meeting, the Singapore Prime Minister had earlier on Friday urged governments to address the impulse to turn inwards – even as demands to put up barriers to immigration, free trade, and exchange of information by those who feel marginalised have intensified. There are also talks ongoing to allow Singaporeans to travel visa-free to Mongolia for 30 days, up from the current 14.