President Nguyen Xuan Phuc. (Photo: VNA)

Singapore is currently the largest ASEAN investor in Vietnam and the second  largest among 140 countries and territories, with a total registered capital of 66 billion USD. Despite COVID-19, two-way trade reached 8.3 billion USD last year, up more than 23% against 2020.

Bilveer Singh, an international relations specialist from the National University of Singapore, told Vietnam News Agency that President Phuc's visit reaffirms close cooperation in political, economic and strategic fields between the two countries.

The visit will convey a message to the world, and ASEAN in particular that even in the the pandemic, and in the era of political, economic and health uncertainties, the two countries are still moving forward, and strengthening their bilateral relations based on mutual trust, he said.

The two nations also share consensus on the East Sea issue, and believe in the rules-based order in which the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea plays an important role, according to Professor Singh.

He expressed his hope that Singaporean leaders will soon visit Vietnam and relations will be further promoted with mutual trust.