Vietnam PM urges Singapore to join country’s international financial center development

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called on Singapore to support Vietnam’s strategic industries, including semiconductors, renewable energy, innovation, and the digital economy, and take part in the country's international financial center development.

Chinh made the remarks during his second annual meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday.

Both leaders expressed their delight to see the positive progress in bilateral relations since the two countries upgraded ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and welcomed the signing of a 2025-2030 Action Program to deepen cooperation across six key pillars.

They reaffirmed that economic cooperation remains a core pillar of the relationship, noting advances in clean energy connectivity and carbon credit collaboration.

The two sides agreed to jointly develop annual roadmaps for each cooperation pillar under their economic connectivity framework and advance the development of greener, smarter Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP 2.0).

Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Vietnam is one of Singapore’s most important regional partners, adding that the new Action Program would help strengthen collaboration in strategic areas.

He voiced interest in expanding agricultural cooperation to ensure food security, saying Singapore is ready to import processed poultry, pork, fish, and seafood from Vietnam. The two sides aim to sign a government-to-government rice trade agreement during the upcoming APEC Summit.

The two leaders also agreed to bolster cooperation in defense and security, education and training, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, particularly in nurturing talent for innovation.

Prime Minister Chinh urged Singapore to assist Vietnam in developing strategic sectors such as semiconductors, renewable energy, innovation, and the digital economy, and called for closer cooperation in science, technology, and innovation as new pillars of the partnership. He invited Singapore to participate in Vietnam’s international financial center development.

Vietnam is developinng an international financial center located in both Ho Chi Minh City and Danang - both economic hubs in the country's southern and central regions, respectively.

PM Wong said Singapore would continue supporting Vietnam in improving human resources, especially at the strategic leadership level, and agreed to Vietnam’s proposal to connect databases in areas such as economy, trade, and population. The two sides will also explore developing data centers within VSIPs to facilitate business operations.

On regional matters, they agreed to strengthen ASEAN unity and focus on sustainable development in subregions, including the Mekong, through bilateral or trilateral cooperation on infrastructure connectivity in maritime, rail, road, aviation, and digital networks.

Vietnam and Singapore also pledged to enhance coordination ahead of 2027, when Vietnam will host APEC and Singapore will chair ASEAN, to ensure synergistic outcomes.

Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining the South China Sea (known as the East Sea in Vietnam) as a sea of peace, cooperation, and development, and to working with ASEAN partners to advance an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) consistent with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

At the end of the meeting, the two prime ministers witnessed the signing of the Action Program for the Implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2025-2030) between the foreign ministries of both countries.

Singapore was Vietnam’s fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN (after Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia) and 14th globally, 2023 data shows. Conversely, Vietnam ranked as Singapore’s fourth-largest ASEAN trading partner and 11th globally. In 2024, two-way trade reached $10.3 billion, up 14.7% from 2023.

Singapore is also Vietnam’s largest ASEAN investor and second-largest overall, with 3,915 valid projects worth over $83 billion, mainly in manufacturing, real estate, and energy distribution.

The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) model is a symbol of successful bilateral economic cooperation. Since the first VSIP was launched in Binh Duong in 1996, 18 parks have been established across 13 provinces and cities in Vietnam.