Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden receive a book from Dr. Nigel Paul Taylor, Director of National Parks, during a ceremony in which an orchid was named the Joe and Jill Biden Orchid, at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, in Singapore, July 26, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Today was our first full day in Singapore and there could not have been a more beautiful introduction than our tour of the Botanic Gardens. Singapore Botanic Gardens are known for their orchids and in 1957 the country began to name selected orchid hybrids after State Visitors to foster closer ties between nations. As an avid gardener, I am honored that they chose to name a deep purple Dendrobium orchid the “Joe and Jill Biden” during our visit today. We’ll bring some “Joe and Jill Biden” orchids back to DC to display at the Vice President’s Residence.
After leaving the Gardens, we drove to Singapore’s new Green Children’s Library, which is made entirely out of recycled materials. Singapore boasts some of the most sophisticated libraries in the world and our partnership with the National Library Board (NLB) has proved to be a wonderful relationship for the U.S. Embassy. Earlier this year the Embassy partnered with the NLB on an e-reader program, allowing library visitors to check out electronic tablets that have access to thousands of book titles. The Embassy has donated over 400 e-readers, emphasizing the importance of education to both of our countries.
Fonte: White House