New Era for Vietnam and Singapore Cooperation

Singapore and Vietnam relations are at a historic high. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and General Secretary To Lam upgraded our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in March 2025. This is our first CSP with an ASEAN member state, and reflects the importance we place on our partnership with Vietnam.

Singapore and Vietnam face a difficult external terrain as we celebrate our 60th and 80th anniversaries of independence. The open rules-based multilateral system on which we depend for peace and prosperity is under severe stress. We see dangerous dynamics of nationalism, and an upsurge of conflict and violence across the world. As open economies reliant on open markets for trade and investments, these global developments have greatly impacted us. At the same time, under General Secretary To Lam’s leadership, Vietnam is embarking on a “new era of ascendancy”, with an emphasis on sustainable development, green growth, and digital transformation - all areas where our strengths complement each other.

 We are therefore stepping up our bilateral cooperation across the board as we navigate a “new era”. We both share a common outlook on many regional and multilateral issues. We are both seized with the importance of working together to maintain peace and stability. Our bilateral relationship is firmly anchored in strong political trust, as seen by the increasing tempo of bilateral exchanges at all levels.

Our newly minted CSP sets out a roadmap for deepening and expanding our cooperation to better support each other in a rapidly changing and challenging global environment. The CSP is aligned with Vietnam’s focus on digital transformation and green development to move up the value chain. The CSP covers new areas of opportunity such as renewable energy, carbon credits, subsea cable connectivity, and the digital economy, while addressing emerging challenges such as scams and cybercrimes. Both sides are committed to ensuring swift and speedy progress in implementing the CSP to deal with the complexities of an increasingly turbulent global environment.

The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) have been the cornerstone of our bilateral cooperation for almost three decades. From the beginning, they have set the benchmark for industrial park development in Vietnam – providing international-standard infrastructure to investors, enabling them to establish operations seamlessly. Over the years, the VSIPs have continued to grow from strength to strength. There are now 20 VSIPs located across 14 provinces in Vietnam with more to come in the pipeline. Collectively, the VSIPs have brought in more than US$23 billion worth of investment capital from over 1,000 tenant companies, creating jobs for some 320,000 people.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the VSIP Thai Binh, March 2025

 VSIPs in the new era

The growth of our VSIPs has mirrored the trajectory of our bilateral ties. Through 2025, Singapore continues to be the largest source of foreign direct investment for Vietnam. Our bilateral trade – which increased by 10% last year - continues to grow rapidly, with Singapore now ranking as Vietnam’s eighth largest export market. And, just as our bilateral partnership is growing, the VSIPs are taking reference from the goals of the CSP to evolve and update the next phase of VSIP development.

The 20 VSIPs form a useful network of industrial parks in Vietnam, which can be mutually supporting and have synergistic effect. Future VSIPs will be smarter and greener – when General Secretary To Lam visited Singapore, we witnessed the exchange of an MOU on the development of technology-enabled industrial parks which will be powered with more renewable energy. LEGO’s carbon-neutral factory in VSIP Ho Chi Minh is leading the way, with many more to come, as companies everywhere seek to decarbonize their supply chains while attracting investments in high-tech and advanced manufacturing industries.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man attends a groundbreaking ceremony for the VSIP II Quang Ngai, March 2025

VSIPs and beyond

Beyond VSIPs, we are pushing an agenda to work together to pursue sustainable and resilient growth. We are making progress on a joint venture between PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) and Sembcorp Utilities to export low-carbon energy into Singapore, which will be made possible through our renewable energy projects and the laying of subsea cables. We are finalizing an Implementation Agreement on Carbon Credits Collaboration pursuant to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to unlock additional climate mitigation activities and enable both of us to meet our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Through these mutually beneficial collaborations, Singapore and Vietnam can pave the way for wider initiatives like the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), which will improve the collective energy resilience of our region. We are also working on strengthening agricultural trade between us, particularly in poultry and rice, which will help ensure food security.

Our strong people-people relations remain the foundational pillar which powers our relationship. We have a steady flow of people travelling between our two countries – for tourism, work and studies, with Singapore now the sixth largest source of tourists. We have new initiatives to facilitate more connections, such as implementing our Innovation Talent Exchange (ITX) Program, which will enable young Vietnamese professionals to seek working stints in eligible innovation-related areas of work in Singapore, and vice-versa. Singapore continues to play a strong role in supporting Vietnam’s human resource development, with our programs adapting to new areas of priority to Vietnam, such as digital transformation. Vietnam has been the most active participant in the Singapore Cooperation Program, with over 22,000 officials having attended our courses – many of them conducted here in Hanoi, at our Vietnam-Singapore Cooperation Centre – with plans for more such programs in Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong to expand our reach.

As we look ahead, the future for Singapore-Vietnam relations is bright and full of promise. With your support, I am confident this relationship will continue to flourish, bringing benefit to the people of our two countries, while contributing to the stability, peace and prosperity of ASEAN.

Jaya Ratnam, Singapore's Ambassador to Vietnam

Source: Vietnam Business Forum