Vietnam-Singapore ties set for elevation to comprehensive strategic partnership
Vietnam and Singapore will elevate bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit Vietnam next year.
PM Wong revealed this in a Wednesday post on X (formerly Twitter) after a “productive meeting” with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh the same day on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil. He did not specify timeframes.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong greet each other in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. Photo courtesy of Lawrence Wong X.
The two PMs agreed on boosting exchange visits by delegations of both countries, transforming the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) into green and digital facilities and enhancing infrastructure-logistics linkages and digital connections between the two nations.
They also exchanged experiences in developing renewable energy, a Southeast Asian electricity network, international financial centers and other regional issues of common interest.
Vietnam now has comprehensive strategic partnerships, one of the highest diplomatic levels in its foreign affairs policy, with eight countries. The latest one happened last month with France. The other countries are China, Russia, India, South Korea, the United States, Japan and Australia.
Vietnam has so far attracted 41,501 valid FDI projects with a total registered capital of $492.26 billion. Singapore is the second-biggest investor with $81.1 billion, behind South Korea with $87.4 billion.
Vietnam-Singapore trade turnover reached SGD23.2 billion ($17.3 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, up 6.82% year-on-year, according to data of the Vietnam trade office in Singapore. Vietnam is Singapore’s 12th biggest trade partner.
Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) is a joint venture between Vietnam’s Becamex IDC and Singapore’s Sembcorp Development Group. The first VSIP was established in 1996. The joint venture now operates 15 VSIP facilities in 11 localities across Vietnam, Sembcorp reported in a 2023 performance review. This June, it said three more VSIP facilities were planned in the country.
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