The recent official visit to Singapore by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse along with a high-ranking delegation from Vietnam was successful in various spheres, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

In an interview granted to the press on the outcome of the visit, Dung said that first of all, via the visit, the mutual trust in the bilateral relations after 45 years of diplomatic ties and five years of strategic partnership has been reinforced and strengthened. The trust, closeness and shared vision of development goals and strategic security issues of the two countries create an important foundation for their vigorous cooperation development in all fields, making active contributions to the growth of each nation. Vietnam and Singapore agreed to enhance collaboration in security-defence, especially cyber security, building the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) of solidarity, self-resilience and innovation as well as maintaining the bloc’s central role in the regional architecture.

The two sides also shared the common viewpoint of ASEAN on East Sea issue of maintaining peace, stability, security, and safety of navigation and aviation and addressing disputes via peaceful means and in respect of diplomatic and legal processes, without use of or threat to use of force, on the basic of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).

They back the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards the early completion of an effective and legally binding Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Secondly, the visit has created a new framework of connectivity when the economies of Vietnam and and Singapore are moving to a new period of development with more extensive and intensive integration into regional and global economies proven by their signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and active negotiations on numerous regional cooperation deals such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

Singapore’s commitments to prioritising stronger cooperation in the fields of clean energy, urban solutions, agriculture, and encouragement of joint projects between the two countries’ businesses to optimise Singapore’s strengths in advanced technology and trade of agricultural products will be a powerful lever for Vietnamese enterprises to join the global supply chain, thus bringing long-term and sustainable benefits to people. The two PMs also reached high consensus on promoting affiliation in education and training (especially English and vocational training), finance, oil and gas services, and science-technology.

Thirdly, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivered the strong reaffirmation of the Vietnamese government to adopt favourable policies for the Vietnamese community abroad, particularly encouraging overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and experts to contribute to building national development policies, as well as measures to support overseas students to start their business when coming back to the homeland.

While holding talks with nearly 30 intellectuals in Singapore, including many professors and doctors of Vietnamese origin, PM Phuc took note of their opinions regarding the national development and building of a facilitating government in the new industrial era. During his meeting with Vietnamese students at the Singapore Management University, he highlighted the Government’s commitment to creating a favourable start-up environment. He noted that the nearly 10,000 Vietnamese students along with a remarkable number of Vietnamese intellectuals and experts in Singapore is really a valuable human resource for Vietnam in the path of development and integration.

Last but not least, through the research and experience sharing on the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and logistics, Vietnam and Singapore agreed on major cooperation orientations in building master plans and programmes on Industry 4.0, focusing on its opportunities and challenges for the Government and businesses.

Singapore pledged to support Vietnam in improving capacity to take advantage of new cutting-edge technology, develop physical and technical infrastructure such as applying digitalisation, artificial intelligence and automated machines, and sharpen soft skills including management capability along with improving quality of human resources through training cooperation (for example, studying the possibility of opening a Singapore’s logistics training school in Vietnam).

According to Deputy FM Dung, one of the highlights of the visit was creating a framework of close connectivity between the Government and businesses and among enterprises of the two countries. 

At a business forum with the participation of nearly 700 delegates, the two sides sealed over 20 cooperation agreements in specific fields such as liquefied gas, gas, agriculture, aviation, urban planning and tourism-hotel complex construction worth approximately 3 billion USD in total, he said.-VNA