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| Singaporean President Halimah Yacob visits VSIP Bac Ninh Industrial Park, October 18, 2022. (Source: VNA) |
2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Singapore. Generations of leaders of the two countries have successfully inherited the relationship founded by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet.
Promote bonding and mutual understanding
Singapore has always been a strong supporter of Vietnam's human resource development. More than 21,000 Vietnamese officials have participated in courses under the Singapore Cooperation Programme.
The Vietnamese community in Singapore is quite large, about 15 thousand people, making many important contributions to Singaporean society. Vietnam is a popular tourist destination for Singaporeans. There are more than 130 flights between the two countries every week.
Singaporean youth regularly visit Vietnam for self-funded study abroad programs, cultural exchanges, and community service projects. The Singapore International Foundation and the National Youth Council of Singapore will host the fifth ASEAN Youth Forum, bringing together youth leaders from across ASEAN to Singapore and Vietnam later this year. The people-to-people ties between the two countries are a bridge to foster mutual understanding and engagement.
Economic relations between the two countries are strong. Since 2020, Singapore has been the largest foreign direct investor in Vietnam. This reflects the rapid transformation of the Vietnamese economy and Singapore’s confidence in Vietnam’s long-term prospects. Singapore has been a trusted partner in Vietnam’s industrialization since the 1990s.
The growing economic relationship between the two countries was the result of close consultations between Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, who asked Prime Minister Lee to advise Vietnam on opening up its economy. Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet was also a close friend of Mr. Goh Chok Tong, who proposed the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) initiative in 1994.
The VSIPs have become a strong symbol of the bilateral partnership. There are 14 VSIPs established in the North, Central and South regions, attracting 18.4 billion USD in investment and creating more than 300,000 jobs. In particular, the remarkable development of the third VSIP in Binh Duong province to integrate digital and green elements in its design reflects the great potential of VSIPs in meeting the needs of global economic development and building self-reliance.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 12, 2022. (Source: VNA) |
Promoting sustainable development
The partnership between the two countries in recent years has opened up many new areas such as digital and green cooperation. Singapore and Vietnam share the view to expand cooperation in the areas of digital economy, renewable energy, carbon credit, green finance, cybersecurity and sustainable infrastructure. The Green Economy - Digital Economy Partnership, signed in February 2023 on the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Singapore, has paved the way for a stronger partnership between the two countries.
The two sides need to strengthen cooperation for sustainable development. The global nature of climate change requires countries to coordinate and develop innovative solutions. Specifically, both countries want to cooperate in developing renewable energy. Vietnam has abundant sunshine and wind, which can be utilized to produce renewable energy. The Government's efforts towards green transformation, such as drafting the 8th Power Master Plan, are impressive and reflect the vision of the Vietnamese leadership for the future. This is a good foundation for us to cooperate to realize the vision of the ASEAN Power Grid to promote regional energy security.
There is much more we can do to advance digital cooperation. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role that digital and electronic trade plays in ensuring business continuity. This is a priority area for both countries and I am delighted to see our cooperation expanding to new areas such as cybersecurity, cross-border data flows, smart cities, innovation, artificial intelligence and digital payments.
During the State visit of Singaporean President Halimah Yacob in October 2022, the Ministry of Communications and Information of Singapore and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the areas of cyber security and cybercrime, data mobility and personal data protection. The first meeting of the Digital Working Group was also held in February this year to discuss specific project initiatives.
With our shared interest in promoting digital transformation, I am confident that we will have many more such collaborations in the future. As we respond to the opportunities and challenges of the digital age, Singapore looks forward to working closely with Vietnam to leverage the capabilities of both countries.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. |
Looking for new cooperation opportunities
Singapore and Vietnam cooperate closely in ASEAN and other international fora. In the context of increasing uncertainty in the regional security environment and rising protectionism, Singapore appreciates Vietnam’s support for multilateralism and its shared desire to maintain an open and inclusive regional architecture based on international law.
Through ASEAN, Vietnam and Singapore cooperate closely on cross-border issues such as public health and sustainability. In particular, Vietnam’s proactive leadership in its capacity as ASEAN Chair in 2020 in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic is commendable. ASEAN is a pillar of the bilateral partnership, and at a time when geopolitical fault lines are becoming more apparent, these mechanisms play an important role in promoting dialogue and engagement between the parties.
We continue to explore new opportunities for collaboration, leveraging each other’s strengths and fostering each other’s innovation. Singapore and Vietnam have demonstrated their ability to respond to rapidly changing global challenges in the context of Covid-19, digital transformation and energy transition through close cooperation.
Both sides recognise that the next important step is to implement the agreements reached in a concrete manner to produce substantive results. This reflects the solid and practical partnership between the two sides. I am confident that the friendship between our two countries will continue to bear fruit in the next 50 years.
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