Singapore Ambassador: As Vietnam Enters Era of Strong Growth, Economic Cooperation Will Flourish

This is Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's first official visit to Vietnam as Prime Minister of Singapore.

Turning Point

This is Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's first official visit to Vietnam as Prime Minister of Singapore.

Less than two weeks ago, General Secretary To Lam paid an official visit to Singapore. This was the first visit by a Vietnamese General Secretary to Singapore since 2012. On this occasion, General Secretary To Lam and Prime Minister Wong elevated the two countries' relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

This is Singapore's first CSP relationship with an ASEAN country, and one of Singapore's three CSP relationships with other partners.

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Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his wife are about to officially visit Vietnam.

Thus, it can be seen that the relationship between the two countries is at its strongest stage of development in history. In just the past two weeks, the two countries have had high-level visits and raised bilateral relations to the highest level.

However, the two countries did not stop there and were determined to promote cooperation further. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's visit, right after that of General Secretary To Lam, reflected the importance of the bilateral relationship and the urgency of taking advantage of the strong development momentum to bring the bilateral relationship into a new era.

This is arguably a turning point in bilateral relations. Singapore and Vietnam are both celebrating many important milestones this year. Singapore is celebrating its 60th Independence Day and the 10th anniversary of the passing of the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The strong relationship between the two countries was built on the political trust and cooperation between the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet during Vietnam's economic opening period.

For Vietnam, this year, you celebrate the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the country, the 50th anniversary of national reunification, and the 30th anniversary of joining ASEAN – events that paved the way for Vietnam's remarkable development over the past decades.

Currently, Vietnam is entering a new era, with the driving force being to promote industrial development, digital transformation, green growth, regional and global integration.

These milestones come against a backdrop of increasing global uncertainty and uncertainty; the rules-based multilateral system, which has underpinned the peace and prosperity of Singapore, Vietnam and ASEAN, is under pressure.

In that context, our two countries have similar strategic views in strongly supporting multilateralism and international law; actively promoting free trade.

Singapore and Vietnam both have a core interest in ensuring the unity and success of Southeast Asia. The two countries are committed to working together to promote ASEAN centrality and enhance regional economic integration.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong presided over the welcoming ceremony for General Secretary To Lam on an official visit to the Republic of Singapore on March 12. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

Building a strong future together

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s schedule during his visit to Vietnam is packed with important discussions with Vietnamese leaders. The Prime Minister will meet with General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

Although this is Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s first official visit to Vietnam, he has been in frequent contact with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in recent times. Last year, the two Prime Ministers had a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's visit affirmed the significance of strengthening friendship to overcome challenges together and build a stronger future; assessed the progress of cooperation and promoted the implementation of the CSP.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will attend a special event on Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) to support Vietnam in its new era of development.

Vietnam and Singapore are natural partners, with many complementary strengths. The upgrading of the relationship to CSP is not just a formality but also demonstrates a strong desire for cooperation.

The CSP forms the strategic framework for the Green and Digital Economy Partnership Agreement between the two countries, to be signed in 2023. The two sides are promoting specific cooperation programs, especially in new areas.

Specifically, the two sides are implementing two important initiatives, the first is the Vietnam-Singapore Energy Partnership (VSEP), which invests heavily in offshore wind power and submarine cable systems – laying the foundation for the ASEAN Power Grid, thereby helping Vietnam become a regional hub for the green economy.

The second is carbon credit cooperation. Singapore is willing to invest in purchasing carbon credits from Vietnam, contributing to promoting jobs, green investment and sustainable development in Vietnam. The two sides are implementing the Implementation Agreement (IA) on carbon credit cooperation, expected to be the first agreement in ASEAN.

Singapore has continued to be Vietnam's largest foreign investor over the past three years. By 2024, Singapore will be Vietnam's second largest FDI investor, with a total investment capital of more than US$81 billion in about 3,800 projects.

Vietnam is Singapore's 11th largest trading partner in 2024, and by January 2025, Vietnam will become Singapore's 9th largest trading partner, showing the dynamism in the relationship between the two countries.

Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum within the framework of General Secretary To Lam's visit on March 13. (Source: VNA)

The future is bright and promising

As Vietnam enters an era of strong economic growth, cooperation between the two countries will "flourish". Singapore has been a long-term partner of Vietnam, and the VSIP industrial park model will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026.

The number of VSIPs has doubled since 2022. In just three years, nine new VSIP models have been deployed, reflecting Vietnam's strong development. Currently, there are 20 VSIP models spread across the North, Central and South of Vietnam. The 11 operating VSIPs have attracted more than 22 billion USD in investment capital and created 300,000 jobs in Vietnam.

As the remaining VSIPs come into operation, these numbers will grow even more strongly.

Not only expanding in quantity, VSIPs will also be upgraded to match Vietnam's development orientation, focusing on sustainability and innovation to attract high-quality FDI capital flows, creating more and better jobs for the highly skilled workforce.

The future of the relationship between Vietnam and Singapore is bright. The two countries have common challenges and are committed to working together to support each other. The key to the bilateral relationship is the increasingly deep connection between the two peoples.

Singapore has always been a strong partner in supporting Vietnam's human resource development. Under the Singapore Cooperation Programme, we have trained more than 22,000 officials for the Vietnamese Government.

Over the past two years, the scope and scale of this cooperation has been expanded, especially through the implementation of the Singapore-Vietnam Innovation Talent Exchange Programme, expanding training and capacity building programmes to suit the needs of each locality.

During General Secretary To Lam's recent visit, the two countries agreed to promote Singapore's training programs in Vietnam, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics to expand training for Vietnamese officials.

As more and more Vietnamese people come to Singapore to work, study or travel, and vice versa, the number of Singaporeans coming to Vietnam also increases, the friendship between the people of the two countries will become increasingly stronger, contributing positively to the development of bilateral relations.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-singapore-khi-viet-nam-buoc-vao-ky-nguyen-tang-truong-manh-me-hop-tac-kinh-te-se-thang-hoa-308708.html