(VOVWORLD) - On Monday, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son began an official visit to Singapore. The two-day visit is part of high-level delegation exchanges between the two countries this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. The visit will deepen and strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership, which was upgraded 10 years ago.
 (Photo: VNA) |
Over the years, the Vietnam-Singapore relationship has grown steadily. The two sides have maintained regular exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts, achieving substantive results with stronger development of bilateral cooperation in all fields.
Bright spots in bilateral economic cooperation
Vietnam-Singapore economic cooperation is the highlight in Southeast Asia. Bilateral trade exceeded 9 billion USD in 2022, up 10% from 2021. In 2022, Singapore maintained its lead in ASEAN and ranked second of 141 countries and territories invested in Vietnam. Singapore has more than 3,000 investment projects with a total registered capital of 70.8 billion USD in 51 provinces and cities. Vietnam has 140 investment projects in Singapore with a total registered capital of more than 586 million USD, focused in science, technology, wholesale and retail, information and communication, real estate, processing, and manufacturing.
The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), a symbol of the successful economic cooperation between the two countries, contributes greatly to Vietnam’s socio-economic development. There are 12 VSIPs in 9 provinces and cities in Vietnam, which have 17.6 billion USD in investment capital and employ 300,000 workers.
During his visit to Singapore in February, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said: "The VSIP is a model of bilateral investment cooperation that should be replicated. The model benefits both countries and their common interests by harmonizing benefits and sharing difficulties.
Vietnam and Singapore are both members of new-generation free trade agreements including the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). With the complementary nature of the two economies, the two sides promote trade agreements both are members in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation and contribute to the economic recovery of each country and the region.
Strengthening bilateral cooperation in multiple fields
Cooperation in education, training, and human resources is the highlight of the Vietnam-Singapore ties.
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do said: "Through this cooperation program, many students have learned about Singapore and many students have received scholarships to study in Singapore. We hope the two Ministries of Education will soon sign a new cooperation agreement to replace the 2017 pact. We hope to expand cooperation in education, mainly in training and fostering teachers, reforming the management mechanism, and strengthening school administration and teaching methods toward improving the quality and capacity of students.""
Vietnam and Singapore have maintained high-level delegation exchanges and annual dialogue and cooperation mechanisms. Bilateral cooperation in finance, banking, education, training and the environment has been strengthened. Last year, Vietnam welcomed 134,000 Singaporean visitors and more than 285,000 Vietnamese visited Singapore.
The two countries have worked closely at multilateral organizations and forums including the United Nations, ASEAN, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and within the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to recover and develop their economies.
Opening up prospects for bilateral cooperation
During its steady development, Singapore has always looked for new directions and ways to increase its economic competitiveness, integrate with the region and the world, and create more opportunities for its economy. Vietnam has consistently implemented a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, diversification and multilateralization of external relations, and is a friend, a reliable partner, and an active and responsible member of the international community.
The two countries have strengthened political trust between their leaders and mutual understanding and cultural similarities have created a solid foundation for expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in renewable energy, cybersecurity, environment, education, training, and human resource development.
Vietnam and Singapore have steadily expanded cooperation in the digital economy, digital transformation, innovation, and green economy.