Prime Minister’s visit aims to lift Viet Nam-Singapore economic ties to new height

The Vietnamese Prime Minister will pay official visits to Singapore and Brunei Darrussalam from February 8-11 at the invitations of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

Pham's Singapore visit takes place in the context that the Viet Nam-Singapore Strategic Partnership has grown strongly and positively across all sectors. This year, both sides will celebrate the 50^th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10^th anniversary of the establishment of Strategic Partnership. 

Last year, delegation exchanges at all levels were organized effectively, including former President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's State visit to Singapore in February, Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore Tan Chuan-Jin's official visit to Viet Nam in May, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies of Singapore Heng Swee Keat's official visit to Viet Nam in September and Singaporean President Halimah Yacob's State visit to Viet Nam in October. 

Singapore is currently a top crucial trade partner of Viet Nam in the region, with the two-way trade hitting US$9 billion in 2022, up 10.1 percent against the previous year. 

Singapore ranked first among ASEAN Member States and held the second position among 141 nations and territories investing in Viet Nam with the total registered capital of US$70.39 billion in 3,032 valid projects. 

Twelve Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP), which are regarded as the symbol in the bilateral economic cooperation, are located in nine localities, attracting US$17.6 billion in investment capital for 900 projects and creating 300,000 jobs. 

The two nations' senior leaders pledged to bolster collaboration in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly in new areas such as digital economy, digital transformation, global and regional supply chain connectivity, building green economy and sustainable development.

Regarding cooperation in defense and security, the two countries signed the Defense Cooperation Agreement in February 2022, a defense cooperation plan for 2023-2025 and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cyber security in October 2022./.