Viet Nam-Singapore: Partners for a new era

The Ambassador made the point at a press briefing ahead of the official visit of Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam to Singapore.

Singapore and Viet Nam have a very long-standing, strong and excellent relationship, said Ambassador Jaya Ratman. In 2023, the two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of strategic partnership.

"Singapore is looking forward the official visit as it comes after the last visit of a Vietnamese General Secretary to Singapore in 2012," Jaya Ratman said.

In addition, the official visit is at a historic juncture in the relationship and the world itself. This year, Viet Nam celebrates the 80th anniversary of the National Day and Singapore marks the 60th year of national independence.

"In the world, we are going through a very difficult phase in which, the multilateral, open system that Viet Nam and Singapore depend on for peace and prosperity, is coming under severe stress," he added.

Jaya Ratman said that Singaporean leaders are looking very much forward to welcoming the Vietnamese leader and also having discussions with him on how the two countries can work together to engage each other in new areas and emerge even stronger from this current situation.

"The imperative to work stronger and support each other has actually never been stronger," stressed the diplomat.

Strong impetus for Viet Nam-Singapore relations

Jaya Ratman also said the relationship faces common challenges including digital transformation and energy transition. Both Viet Nam and Singapore have a strong foundation to work on. In 2023, the two countries launched the Green-Digital Economic Partnership which particularly focuses on clean energy and innovation cooperation.

Over the last three years, Singapore has been Viet Nam's largest source of foreign direct investment. As of late 2024, Singapore's cumulative investment in Viet Nam accounted for about US$80 billion spreading across almost 4,000 projects in Viet Nam.

On the other hand, Viet Nam was Singapore's 11th largest trading partner last year. In the first month of this year, Viet Nam was the ninth largest trading partner, showing the very strong momentum in the bilateral relationship.

There are 18 Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs), the iconic for the bilateral relationship across 13 localities in Viet Nam. In total, they accounted for around US$22 billion worth of foreign direct investment and support 300,000 jobs. But in reality, only 10 VSIPs have been fully put into operation. The rest of eight others are actually in the process of being built.

In the coming years, we are going to see much more investments being drawn into Viet Nam by these parks and much more employment, the Ambassador said.

As Viet Nam moves towards a new era, Singapore also wants VSIPs to move into a new era and upgrade themselves, both in terms of sustainability and innovation.

For example, VSIP Binh Duong III, the newest of this kind in the southern province of Binh Duong attracted Lego Corporation to develop Viet Nam's first green manufacturing facility.

The Ambassador also hoped to see additional VSIPs which would support Viet Nam's high-tech ambitions and sustainable growth.

He also expected that the two countries would expand the relationship across many new areas such as food and innovation.

Jaya Ratman also highly spoke of the Viet Nam-Singapore Energy Project which supports Viet Nam's ample renewable energy resources, particularly offshore wind, so that Viet Nam can participate in the ASEAN Power Grid. Inadditonally, it will connect all countries of ASEAN together in order to not only help the two countries achieve energy security but also the common aspiration for net zero by 2050.

The Ambassador also praised the the rich relationship including the excellent people-to-people and political relations between the two countries. 

There are over 20,000 overseas Vietnamese people who are living and working in Singapore. Many Singaporeans are coming to Viet Nam, whether to work or visit. Viet Nam is one of the favourite destinations for Singaporeans and Vietnamese food is very popular in Singapore. 

He also underlined the strong political connections between the two countries which were built on the basis of the relationship between Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and Vietnamese former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet in the 1990s. The senior leaders established the principles of the relationship including mutual support, mutual respect, and, most importantly, mutual trust.

"These solid foundations give us the basis to move forward and be partners for a new era", Jaya Ratman finalized./.