PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds phone talk with Singaporean counterpart

NDO/ VNA – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on May 29 discussed via phone with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong bilateral and regional cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds phone talk with Singaporean counterpart
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds phone talk with Singaporean counterpart

PM Phuc appreciated the efforts and comprehensive measures undertaken by the Singaporean Government to contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak and mitigate its socio-economic impacts, underlining his belief that Singapore will soon be able to bring the epidemic under control.

He shared Vietnam’s experience in the transition to a new “normal” as the country promotes economic development while continuing with epidemic prevention and control measures.

The Vietnamese Government leader underlined the importance of regional and international cooperation in the current context, and spoke highly of Vietnam and Singapore’s mutual support regarding medical supplies as well as coordination in repatriating their citizens. He thanked Singapore and PM Lee Hsien Loong himself for contributing to the success of the Special ASEAN Summit and Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on the COVID-19 Response held via video conference on April 14 this year.

For his part, PM Lee Hsien Loong said he was impressed by Vietnam’s success in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and thanked Vietnam for helping Singapore with medical supplies, which he said was evidence of the friendship and trustful partnership between the two countries.

He appreciated the role and initiatives of Vietnam as the Chair of ASEAN in 2020, which aim at promoting intra-bloc cooperation as well as collaboration between ASEAN and its major partners in coping with and mitigating the impacts of the pandemic.

The two PMs agreed to make joint efforts to maintain the impetus of the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership through maintaining high-level meetings and exchanges along with bilateral cooperation mechanisms, further strengthening linkages between the two economies and ensuring sustainable supply chains in the context of world and regional economies facing numerous challenges.

PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to cooperation on food security and welcomed talks between ministries and agencies of the two countries on the early signing of a bilateral agreement on the rice trade, under which Singapore will import Vietnamese rice in a stable and long-term manner.

The two PMs reached consensus on holding discussions on the early resumption of flights in a bid to gradually restoring safe travelling between the two countries, thus creating a boost for bilateral ties in trade-investment, tourism and person-to-person exchanges in the post-pandemic period. The Singaporean PM suggested establishing a “green lane” mechanism to facilitate travel serving essential purposes.

The two Government leaders agreed to continue coordinating and supporting each other at multilateral forums. PM Lee affirmed that he will continue to work closely with and strongly support Vietnam so that the country can successfully perform its roles as Chair of ASEAN in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2020-2021. PM Phuc said he values Singapore’s contributions to coordinating the ASEAN-EU relations during the 2018-2021 tenure.

The two also emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, freedom and security of navigation and overflight in the East Sea. They vowed to make joint efforts to maintain solidarity and the common stance of ASEAN, and push forward negotiations on a substantive Code of Conduct on the East Sea that is in accordance with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).