NTO - 50 years of Vietnam relations

Báo Ninh ThuậnBáo Ninh Thuận31/07/2023

On August 1, 2023, Vietnam and Singapore officially marked the milestone of half a century of cooperation and development (August 1, 1973 - August 1, 2023). After half a century of companionship, the Vietnam - Singapore relationship has become increasingly trustworthy and sustainable.

In particular, upgrading the strategic relationship and establishing an economic and green economic partnership in 2023 are important milestones that create the premise for deep and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries; becoming a model of effective cooperation between countries in the region.

Overcoming obstacles, building strategic trust

On August 1, 1973, Vietnam and Singapore officially announced the establishment of diplomatic relations. In 1978, during Prime Minister Pham Van Dong's official visit to Singapore (January 1978), the two countries issued a Joint Statement affirming the guiding principles of the relationship.

The two countries entered a period of building friendly relations and developing cooperation in many fields.

After many historical ups and downs, it was not until 20 years later that the two countries truly overcame the obstacles and brought the bilateral cooperation into a new stage of development with increasingly consolidated strategic trust and extensive development. The event considered to mark a milestone in the transitional status of Vietnam - Singapore diplomatic relations was the official visit to Singapore by Chairman of the Council of Ministers Vo Van Kiet in November 1991.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung, during his official visit to Singapore in 1991, Chairman of the Council of Ministers Vo Van Kiet expressed his wish for former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to be a senior economic advisor to the Vietnamese Government. In response to the request, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew visited Vietnam many times, giving advice on macroeconomic strategy.

The effective operation of the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) is a symbol of successful cooperation between the two countries. In the photo: VSIP Hai Phong Urban Industrial Park has achieved an occupancy rate of 72%. Photo: Danh Lam/VNA

Singapore sent a team of experts to Vietnam to conduct field research and submit a report with recommendations. The Singaporean government established a 10 million Singapore dollar (SGD) support fund to help train Vietnamese officials. Singapore's timely support for Vietnam in the early days of economic reform was of great significance to the country's future development.

Commenting on the official visit to Singapore in 1991 by Chairman of the Council of Ministers Vo Van Kiet, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Duong Van Quang (September 2003 - July 2007) said: Since that time, Singapore has seen Vietnam as a reliable partner, a partner in need of developing bilateral relations, and also a partner in building the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) into a bloc with all 10 countries as it is today.

Less than two years after the visit of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Vo Van Kiet, the relationship between the two countries continued to be raised to a new level with a historic visit, the official visit to Singapore by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Do Muoi in October 1993. The outstanding diplomatic event in the year the two countries celebrated the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations was when the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam visited Singapore for the first time. The Singaporean press at that time emphasized that "this is a particularly important event in the relationship between the two countries".

Deep and wide strategic partnership

In 2004, Vietnam and Singapore signed the "Joint Statement on the Framework of Comprehensive Cooperation in the 21st Century", creating a legal basis and favorable conditions to promote the friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

In September 2012, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and nearly 20 years after the first visit by General Secretary Do Muoi, for the second time, the island nation of Singapore welcomed the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam with an official visit to the Republic of Singapore by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for three days from June 12-14, 2012.

During the visit, the two countries' senior leaders discussed major directions and measures to strengthen the Vietnam-Singapore friendship and cooperation both bilaterally and multilaterally. The two sides highly agreed on the policy of elevating the relationship between the two countries to the level of strategic partnership and actively prepared to sign the Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2013, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On that basis and the important achievements between the two countries over the past 40 years, on September 11, 2013, in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made a historic decision in the relationship between the two countries, which was to officially upgrade the Vietnam - Singapore comprehensive friendship and cooperation relationship to a Strategic Partnership.

Since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership, the Vietnam-Singapore relationship has truly deepened on all five pillars, including: deepening political relations of mutual trust; strengthening economic cooperation; enhancing security and defense cooperation; promoting cooperation in other fields and enhancing cooperation at international and multilateral forums.

The bilateral relationship has developed strongly and effectively through all channels of the Party, National Assembly, Government and people-to-people exchanges. Despite the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides have maintained effective and flexible delegation exchanges and contacts at high and all levels. Maintaining the annual political consultation mechanism at the Deputy Foreign Minister level has helped enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, creating opportunities for the two sides to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern and cooperation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

Assessing the Vietnam - Singapore relationship over the past 50 years and especially the 10 years of establishing the Vietnam - Singapore Strategic Partnership, Associate Professor Vu Minh Khuong from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore) said that the relationship between the two countries is a mirror for ASEAN countries as well as countries around the world to see the value of peaceful cooperation and a sense of responsibility towards the international community.

Economic cooperation highlights

Production activities at the beginning of the year at Apparel Far Eastern Company Limited (Vietnam) located in the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park, Thuan An City (Binh Duong). Photo: VNA

The achievements of political cooperation with high trust between Vietnam and Singapore have been clearly demonstrated over the past 50 years, especially in the past decade, when by the end of June 2023, Singapore maintained its leading position in ASEAN, ranking 2nd out of 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 3,200 valid projects, total registered capital reaching 73.4 billion USD.

Singaporean investment projects are present in 51/63 provinces and cities of Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh City, followed by Hanoi, Bac Ninh... focusing on the following areas: Processing and manufacturing industry; real estate business; production and distribution of electricity, gas, water, air conditioners. On the other hand, Vietnam has 150 valid investment projects in Singapore with a total registered capital of nearly 700 million USD, focusing on areas such as science - technology, wholesale and retail, information and communication...

Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) are symbols of economic cooperation between the two countries. There are currently 12 VSIPs in 9 provinces and cities of Vietnam. The VSIPs are operating with high occupancy rates (about 83%), attracting a total investment capital of 17.6 billion USD, creating jobs for nearly 300,000 direct workers.

During the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore has been one of the most resilient investors and the largest investor in Vietnam. Associate Professor Vu Minh Khuong commented that in the coming time, Singapore's investment in Vietnam will be much larger. Singapore also benefits from Vietnam's growth.

Singapore is one of the important aviation markets for Vietnam. As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic was basically under control, the two countries gradually lifted travel restrictions on each other. Vietnamese and Singaporean airlines have basically restored commercial passenger flights between the two countries. In the 11 months of 2022, Vietnam welcomed more than 134,000 Singaporean visitors, while Singapore welcomed more than 285,000 Vietnamese visitors. These positive signals will contribute to promoting tourism and trade between the two countries.

During recent high-level visits, the leaders of the two sides agreed on a number of major cooperation directions, suitable for the era of Industry 4.0, especially in new areas such as digital economy, digital transformation, connecting regional and global supply chains, building a green economy, sustainable development, and chain cooperation in production.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Singapore in February 2023 affirmed that Vietnam-Singapore economic connectivity cooperation will be brought to a new level in the context of a series of new-generation free trade agreements with the participation of the two countries taking effect and being implemented, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

During the visit, the highlight was the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the Vietnam-Singapore Digital Economy - Green Economy Partnership, creating a premise for implementing cooperation between the two countries in the fields of digital economy, circular economy, green economy, clean energy, climate change response, etc.

The two sides agreed on measures to promote innovation cooperation in the era of the fourth industrial revolution; increase access to investment and financial capital, including green finance; expand and develop Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks (VSIPs) in Vietnam in a green, smart, inclusive, and energy-saving direction.

Singaporean leaders highly appreciated the Vietnamese Government's recent approval of the investment decision for VSIP Nghe An II industrial park, demonstrating its determination to promote economic and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Half a century of development cooperation, including 10 years as Strategic Partners, the very natural cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Singapore is bringing brilliant results, a typical bright spot in the Southeast Asian region. This is a solid foundation for the bilateral relationship between the two countries in the new period.

According to VNA/Tin Tuc Newspaper



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