Singapore will help Vietnam develop a roadmap for transforming industries and improving digital management and business capacity, as heard at a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on February 5.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (right) and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan meet on February 5 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Singapore.

The two foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat that are underway in Singapore from February 4-6.

They agreed to work together to improve Vietnam’s capacity in ensuring agricultural products’ safety and hygiene so that more of them will be eligible to enter Singaporean market, while promoting Singaporean investment in high technology, particularly in constructing information technology parks.

They also consented to maintain all-level delegation visit exchanges as well as enhance trust and people-to-people exchange.

Regarding defence and security, the two ministers discussed the joint operations of the two countries’ armed forces such as joint anti-piracy patrols, search and rescue, and submarine repairs in line with partnership in encountering terrorism and cyber security threats.

Deputy PM Minh reiterated Vietnam’s support for Singapore’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2018 and highly spoke of its focus on “resilience” and “innovation” as Chair of ASEAN this year. Both sides stressed the need to build a united and rules-based ASEAN in which all member states are obliged to promote the community’s common benefits.

They also agreed that ASEAN should promote real negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Foreign ministers from ASEAN member states are gathering in Singapore for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, where they plan to follow up on progress on the implementation of the outcomes of the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila in November 2017 in addition to matters related to the strengthening of the ASEAN Community and ASEAN Centrality in the regional architecture as well as promote stronger relations between ASEAN and its external partners and regional and global affairs.-VNA