Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his spouse will pay an official visit to Vietnam from Sunday to Tuesday next week at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday.

PM Lee’s trip will mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Singapore diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of a strategic partnership between the two nations.

The top Singaporean official’s visit is also meant to reciprocate Vietnamese Prime Minister Chinh’s to Singapore in February.

This will be PM Lee's fifth visit to Vietnam since he took office in 2004, Vietnamese Ambassador in Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

His most recent visit to Vietnam was in 2017.

“PM Lee’s visit to Vietnam reflects the close relationship between the two nations and will deepen their strategic partnership in maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world,” Ambassador Dung underlined.

Since the two countries’ diplomatic ties were established in 1973, Singapore and Vietnam have made great strides in various fields, especially in relation to economic activities.  

Singapore is one of Vietnam’s key economic partners in Southeast Asia, with both consistently listed among the other’s top 15 largest trade partners.

Two-way trade between the two nations reached US$9.15 billion in 2022, and $4.5 billion in the first half of 2023.

Singapore ranks first among the Southeast Asian nations and second in 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) are considered a symbol of the two nations’ economic cooperation.

As many as 14 VSIPs currently operate in 10 provinces and cities in Vietnam, contributing to the two nations’ economic growth.

The two countries have been shoring up their collaboration in national security, defense, education, innovation, and cultural exchange.

During the Vietnamese government leader’s Singapore visit in February, the two nations set up the Vietnam-Singapore digital and green economy partnership to strengthen their multifaceted cooperation.

The Singaporean prime minister is set to host talks with his Vietnamese counterpart and meet with the leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, the state, and the lawmaking National Assembly.

The two prime ministers and their spouses will also attend some diplomatic events together.

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