Tayyebnia Receives Singapore’s Prestigious Prize

Former minister of economic affairs and finance, Ali Tayyebnia, was awarded Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew Foundation prize on Thursday.

Tayyebnia is the first Iranian recipient of this prestigious award as an economic figure, IRNA reported.

Officials from both countries, including Iran’s Ambassador to Singapore Javad Ansari and Chairman of the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship Fund Eddie Teo, attended the ceremony.

Teo appreciated Tayyebnia’s efforts in developing Iran’s economy and lowering the inflation rate during his office as minister. He also acknowledged the Iranian academic in promoting bilateral relations between Iran and Singapore.

In his four-year term as Iran’s economy minister (2013-17), Tehran University alumnus and professor managed to put in a convincing performance in reining in Iran’s longstanding double-digit inflation rate. Headline inflation for the year ending June 20, 2016, fell below 10% for the first time in 26 years on his watch.

Lee Kuan Yew was the first prime minister of Singapore, governing for three decades (1959-90). Lee is recognized as Singapore’s founding father, with the country described as transitioning from the “third world to first world in a single generation” under his leadership.