Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong have pledged to beef up cooperation in a bid to promote their countries' strategic partnership to a higher level in the near future.

The two premiers made the pledge at a meeting on Wednesday held on the sidelines of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and related summits in Vientiane, Laos.

In his speech, PM Chinh expressed gratitude to the government and people of Singapore for their support in the wake of typhoon Yagi.

He regarded this aid as a clear example of the strong friendship and strategic partnership between Vietnam and Singapore.

The two leaders expressed their pleasure at the unprecedented and comprehensive development of their bilateral ties and affirmed their determination to strengthen cooperation in all fields.

They agreed that economic cooperation remains a crucial pillar of their bilateral relationship.

They pledged to advance the Vietnam-Singapore green economy-digital economy partnership, develop the sustainable and smart Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) 2.0 system, and enhance collaboration in clean energy.

Both leaders underlined the need to effectively implement the framework agreement on economic connectivity, especially as it relates to telecommunications infrastructure connectivity.

They also consented to bolster cooperation in defense, security, education, training, culture, and people-to-people exchange.

PM Chinh affirmed that Vietnam would continue creating favorable conditions for Singaporean enterprises to expand investment in Vietnam, especially in high-priority fields such as high technology, digital economy, circular economy, innovation, semiconductors, and AI.  

He urged Singapore to assist Vietnam in building a national innovation center for data science, suggesting that the two sides foster cooperation in food production, aquaculture, and supply chain logistics.

Given reports that Vietnam was the largest rice supplier to Singapore in the first half of 2024, PM Wong expressed his desire to further strengthen bilateral agricultural cooperation to ensure food security.

He noted that Singapore is willing to boost imports of fruits, food, and seafood from Vietnam.

Wong affirmed that Singapore will continue to support Vietnam in improving the quality of its human resources, especially among strategic-level officials, while maintaining scholarships at all levels for Vietnam and effectively implementing the memorandum of understanding on the Vietnam-Singapore Innovation Talent Exchange Program.

While discussing regional issues, both sides agreed to bolster ASEAN solidarity and focus on the sustainable development of regional sub-regions, including the Mekong sub-region.

This commitment aims to enhance ASEAN's self-reliance, prosperity, and sustainable development, while also promoting its central role in the region.

The two premiers affirmed their determination to build the East Vietnam Sea into a waterway of peace, cooperation, and development, and to join hands with other ASEAN countries to promote negotiations on a substantive and effective Code of Conduct for the maritime area in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Chinh used the meeting as an opportunity to invite Wong and his spouse to pay an official visit to Vietnam in 2025, which the Singaporean PM accepted with pleasure.

This was the first in-person meeting between Chinh and Wong since they took office. It also marked the inaugural talks under the annual meeting mechanism agreed upon last year to strengthen bilateral relations.

In May, shortly after becoming the fourth prime minister of Singapore, Wong held his first phone call with his Vietnamese counterpart Chinh.

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

In the first eight months of 2024, two-way trade between Vietnam and Singapore reached S$21 billion (US$16.07 billion), representing an 8.47 percent year-on-year surge.

Vietnam has maintained its position as Singapore's 12th-largest trading partner, the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore said, citing official data from the city-state.

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!