Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong reached a consensus on considering upgrading bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership at their talks on Monday.

Singaporean PM Lee arrived in Hanoi on Sunday afternoon to pay an official visit to Vietnam. His visit will wrap up on Tuesday.

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

During their talks on Monday, the two prime ministers discussed bilateral cooperation and tabled some measures to deepen the relationship in the future.

The two top officials are eyeing the upgrade of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Besides, the two leaders of Vietnam and Singapore are determined to hold regular meetings between the two prime ministers to discuss bilateral cooperation and other issues.

Vietnam and Singapore will effectively implement high-level agreements and cooperative mechanisms, said the two leaders.

The two also underlined that it is necessary to efficiently tap the Vietnam-Singapore digital and green economy partnership, which was set up in February.

The two prime ministers highly valued the joint efforts in upgrading the framework agreement on connecting the two economies, which contributes to expanding economic cooperation to some fields such as clean energy, energy transition, and innovation.

PM Chinh suggested Singapore facilitate the export of Vietnamese goods to its market as well as the development and transformation of Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) to smart, green, low-carbon industrial parks, moving toward an industrial-urban ecosystem.

The Vietnamese government chief also proposed Singapore expand its investment in Vietnam’s priority and core fields, while helping Vietnam spur supporting industries.

The two sides agreed to heighten cooperation in national defense and security via the signing and implementation of relevant cooperation agreements.

The two prime ministers expected the two nations to boost their cooperation in digitalization and building a national database center.

The Vietnamese prime minister proposed Singapore help Vietnam build and operate a big-data center to increase efficiency in the fight against cybercrime.

PM Chinh also hinted at connecting Vietnam's system with the electronic identification and authentication system in Singapore as soon as possible to make it easier for their citizens to travel, live, and work in both countries.

The two prime ministers agreed to promote collaboration in other key fields, including finance, banking, and tourism by opening more air services and cruise destinations between the two nations.

Both prime ministers on Monday witnessed the signing of seven cooperation agreements between the two nations’ departments and ministries.

Vice-chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Vo Van Hoan signed a memorandum of understanding between the municipal People’s Committee and Singapore’s Infrastructure Asia to foster sustainable infrastructure development in the southern Vietnamese city.

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