US PRESIDENT Barack Obama joined world leaders who donned colourful designer shirts for a glittering dinner on Saturday, taking a break from annual talks to enjoy the Singapore waterfront and skyline.
Mr Obama, who arrived late after jetting in from Japan, was resplendent in a shirt created especially for the 21 leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Singapore.
The other leaders were earlier transported to their dinner marquee aboard old-fashioned bicycle rickshaws, pedalled by men in wide-brimmed straw hats at Singapore's premier arts venue, the Esplanade.
Many of the VIPs, including Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, gamely smiled and waved as they were taken slowly past onlookers positioned behind a cordon.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet chatted animatedly on her mobile as she was pedalled past the crowd by rickshaw - which in British colonial times was an important form of transport in Singapore.
The dinner setting offers some of the most spectacular views in this trading port, a multicultural city-state that has grown into one of the richest nations in Asia. -- AFP
Mr Obama, who arrived late after jetting in from Japan, was resplendent in a shirt created especially for the 21 leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Singapore.
The other leaders were earlier transported to their dinner marquee aboard old-fashioned bicycle rickshaws, pedalled by men in wide-brimmed straw hats at Singapore's premier arts venue, the Esplanade.
Many of the VIPs, including Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, gamely smiled and waved as they were taken slowly past onlookers positioned behind a cordon.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet chatted animatedly on her mobile as she was pedalled past the crowd by rickshaw - which in British colonial times was an important form of transport in Singapore.
The dinner setting offers some of the most spectacular views in this trading port, a multicultural city-state that has grown into one of the richest nations in Asia. -- AFP
