Elevating Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Partnership

Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-ranking delegation successfully concluded a working visit to Singapore from February 24-26. The visit left important imprints in many fields, deepening the Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Partnership and demonstrating joint efforts for post-pandemic recovery.

Assessing the significance of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's State visit to Singapore for the Vietnam - Singapore strategic partnership, Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung affirmed that the visit was very successful.

To Anh Dung emphasized that the visit of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Singapore has contributed to the implementation of the foreign policy set forth at the 13th Party Congress as a priority for the development of comprehensive relations with neighboring countries and ASEAN, including Singapore, an important strategic partner of Vietnam, especially in economic cooperation, trade and investment.

Taking place in the context that the two countries are approaching the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership in 2023, the visit is of multi-faceted significance for both sides. This is the first direct high-level delegation exchange between Vietnam and Singapore after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a busy schedule of nearly 30 activities, the President had face-to-face discussions with all the top leaders of Singapore, met with leaders of leading Singaporean and international corporations and businesses, and longtime friends of Vietnam, and spoke to the Vietnamese community. Leaders of ministries, branches and localities also had activities with Singaporean partners to exchange specific cooperation contents.

During their meeting, President Halimah Yacob and State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that the two countries will further deepen political and economic ties through regular maintenance of high-level contacts and consolidating existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms. The two countries also agreed to mutual recognition of vaccine certificates, facilitating the safe resumption of regular commercial flights between the two countries.

The two sides strongly promoted the implementation of economic and trade cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the digital economy, especially cooperation in new fields, including regional and global supply chain connectivity, digital economy, agricultural trade and taking advantage of Singapore's central role in promoting the connection of the two economies on a digital platform.

President Halimah Yacob and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc also emphasized the importance of deepening and elevating the strategic partnership between the two countries in the coming time through promoting green economic cooperation - including renewable energy, exchange of carbon credits and related services, development of low carbon technology and green finance.

The leaders also welcomed the achievements of the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) in the 25 years since its establishment in Vietnam and suggested that VSIP continue to raise the level of cooperation and expand its scale in Vietnam in the direction of a green industrial park and innovation, making positive contributions to the bilateral relations.

Both sides also reaffirmed ASEAN's consistent stance on the East Sea and the importance of maintaining peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea. The leaders emphasized the importance of fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and conducting concrete negotiations to finalize a Code of Conduct on the East Sea (COC) substantively and effectively, in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS 1982.

At the Vietnam-Singapore Business Dialogue, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the exchange of five cooperation documents in the fields of defense, economy, trade, information and communication, and intellectual property. These are important foundations contributing to the efforts of both countries to promote economic recovery after the pandemic, bringing Vietnam-Singapore economic connectivity cooperation to a new height in the context of a series of new-generation FTAs with the participation of Vietnam.

Within the framework of the visit, the two sides signed and exchanged 29 memorandums of understanding and cooperation contracts worth more than US$11 billion between Vietnamese localities and businesses with Singapore and foreign partners of many years. Cooperation fields include commerce, innovation, smart industrial park development, airport infrastructure, logistics, renewable energy, school construction and environmental treatment.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc highly appreciated the productive contributions of the Singaporean business community in Vietnam, encouraging investment expansion in areas of Vietnam's needs, actively contributing to Vietnam’s sustainable socio-economic growth. Singaporean businesses expressed their belief in the increasingly improved business and investment environment of Vietnam and affirmed their intention to continue their long-term business and investment in Vietnam.

By Giang Tu, Vietnam Business Forum