Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday sent a letter of congratulations to his new Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong, who took office on the same day, the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs reported.

Wong took his oath of office during an oath taking ceremony held at the city-state’s presidential palace on Wednesday as Singapore's fourth prime minister, in the presence of participants from all walks of life in the island country. 

The new PM, 51, succeeded Lee Hsien Loong, 72, who stepped down after two decades at the position.

On May 13, Lee submitted his resignation to Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and nominated his deputy Wong to replace him.

President Tharman affirmed that he has full confidence in Wong’s ability to lead the country.  

“He will be his own person, with his own approach to building consensus and finding the best way forward for the country. And he will no doubt do so to his own rhythm and beat,” Channel NewsAsia cited Tharman as saying. 

In February last year, Wong, who was then deputy PM, had talks with PM Chinh when the Vietnamese government leader paid an official visit to Singapore.

At the meeting, Wong affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Singapore in the region, and promised he would do his best to contribute to promoting the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Vietnam and Singapore established diplomatic relations on August 1, 1973 and elevated their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership in 2013. 

Singapore is currently Vietnam’s fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN and the second-largest foreign investor in Vietnam, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

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