Vietnam, Singapore to strengthen business ties
Hanoi, The Gulf Observer: Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong attended the Conference to Promote the Implementation of Vietnam-Singapore Investment Cooperation Projects on Tuesday in Hanoi.
Singapore currently ranks first among ASEAN countries and second among all 143 countries with investment in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of US$73.5 billion in nearly 3,300 projects across the country.
The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) industrial complexes located across the country are among some of the most modern industrial parks in Vietnam. Since the establishment of the first VSIP in Vietnam a decade ago, there have been 16 additional industrial parks built in the country.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s investment in Singapore has been steadily on the rise in recent decades, with more than 150 active projects, totalling over $690 million, putting Vietnam at the 10th place among all countries with investment in the Southeast Asian island nation.
Bilateral turnover between the two countries reached $9.15 billion last year and $4.5 billion in the first month of 2023 alone. Among these, new areas, including sustainable and green development, have been identified as key cooperative objectives by the two governments, resulting in a Vietnam-Singapore Digital-Economic Green Partnership.
The conference was part of a series of activities by the two governments to further promote bilateral investment and business cooperation, as well as deepen ties between the peoples of the two countries.
Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that 2023 marked an important milestone, commemorating 50 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Singapore. Singapore was honoured to collaborate and participate in Vietnam’s development.
The newly-established Digital-Economic Green Partnership had established a strong foundation for both sides to enhance cooperation in new areas, aiming for green and sustainable development such as renewable energy, based on science, technology, and innovation.
He expressed his wishes that in the future, many additional cooperative and investment projects would take place to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
PM Lee said the success of investment and business ventures reflected the strong support from the central to local authorities of each nation. He said that it was highly important that governments at all levels continue to create and provide favourable conditions for businesses to invest and operate successfully, and to improve the effectiveness of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Singapore.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries had been a positive sign against a a global context marked by complex and unpredictable developments and economic difficulties.
PM Chinh said Vietnam’s future development would continue to rest on three key pillars: building a socialist rule-of-law state, a socialist-oriented market economy, and a democratic and socially just society with citizens’ rights and benefits at the centre. In addition, the country would continue its pursuit of an independent, self-reliant foreign policy that is diversified and multilateral, considering others as good friends, reliable partners, and responsible members of the international community, and upholding the “4 No’s” defence policy.
Vietnam’s key focus in the coming decades would include attaining strategic breakthroughs in terms of institutions, human resources, and infrastructure; not trading off progress, social equity, and the environment for mere economic growth; ensuring political and social stability; building an independent and self-reliant economy that actively and comprehensively integrates into the international community in a substantial and effective manner.
