General Secretary To Lam starts five-day tour to Indonesia, ASEAN Secretariat and Singapore

The Party chief is accompanied by Politburo member, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Academy of Politics Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, Politburo member, Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chief of the Party Central Committee's Office Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Policy and Strategy Commission Tran Luu Quang, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai, among others.

The tour demonstrates Viet Nam's consistent pursuance of the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development.

It also indicates that the Party and State of Viet Nam attach importance to the relations with neighboring countries, including Indonesia and Singapore.

Indonesia was the first Southeast Asian country to established diplomatic relations with Viet Nam in 1995. The friendly and traditional relationship between the two countries was built and nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno and generations of leaders and people of both sides.

Over the past 70 years, particularly since the establishment of strategic partnership in 2013, the bilateral ties have become increasingly comprehensive and extensive thanks to regular exchange of delegations and contacts at both bilateral and multilateral forums.

In 2024, President Joko Widodo and President-elect Prabowo Subianto visited Viet Nam while Vietnamese President Luong Cuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President Prabowo Subianto on the occasion of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the G20 Summit.

The two countries shared various common interests and strategic viewpoints on regional and international issues, particularly within ASEAN framework and East Sea issue.

On economic cooperation, Indonesia is the second largest trading partner in ASEAN while Viet Nam is Indonesia's fourth largest trading partner in ASEAN. The two-way trade quadrupled over the past decade, reaching US$16.7 billion in 2024.

Defense and security cooperation has been promoted through dialogue, exchange and joint training mechanisms. Both sides have signed and implemented a number of agreements in transnational crime prevention and combat, anti-terrorism and maritime sectors.

Singapore established diplomatic relations with Viet Nam in 1973 and both countries elevated their ties to strategic partnership in 2013.

The two countries have maintained high level of political trust through regular exchange of delegations at all levels, and effectively implemented bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the ministerial-level meeting on Viet Nam-Singapore economic connectivity.

Singapore is the second biggest foreign investor in Viet Nam. To date, Singapore has invested in building 18 Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP), a successful symbol of bilateral economic cooperation, in 13 provinces and centrally run cities in Viet Nam, attracting more than US$18.7 billion in investment capital and creating more than 300,000 jobs. Viet Nam has 153 projects in Singapore with total registered capital of US$690 million.

The two-way trade was estimated at US$10.3 billion in 2024. The two countries set up green economy-digital economy partnership, which has opened up opportunities for bilateral cooperation in spearhead and potential areas in the future.

On defense-security cooperation, the two sides have signed an agreement on bilateral defense cooperation, maintained effective cooperation in new security areas such as cyber-security and transnational crime prevention and combat.

The two sides share common stances on regional and international issues, building an international order based on international law and norms.

Both sides have also maintained people-to-people exchanges. At present, there are about 20,000 Vietnamese people studying, working and living in Singapore./.