At the invitation of President of the Republic of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam To Lam, his spouse, and a high-level Vietnamese delegation are paying a State visit to Singapore from May 29 to 31, 2026.

At the invitation of Director-General and Chief Executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Bastian Giegerich, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam To Lam attended and delivered a keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 29.

General Secretary and President To Lam’s visit to Singapore takes place just over a year after his previous visit to the country and the reciprocal visit to Viet Nam by the Prime Minister of Singapore. These exchanges have made an important contribution to strengthening trust and close ties between the two countries’ senior leaders, while giving strong impetus to bilateral cooperation.

The State visit to Singapore by Party General Secretary and President To Lam carries special significance in further implementing and concretising the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework between the two countries. The visit comes at a time when bilateral relations are developing exceptionally well, while both nations face the shared challenge of renewing their growth models, enhancing competitiveness, and adapting to the rapid shifts taking place in the global economy.

Meanwhile, this marks the first time that a Party General Secretary and President of Viet Nam has been invited to deliver a keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the region’s leading multilateral security forum. The invitation extended by the IISS reflects its high regard for Viet Nam’s increasingly important and responsible role in regional and international affairs, as well as its recognition of General Secretary and President To Lam’s stature and credibility in shaping the country’s strategic development direction and foreign policy.

DEEPENING THE VIET NAM–SINGAPORE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Singapore is geographically close to Viet Nam and is also Viet Nam’s key partner within ASEAN, with a direct effect on the country’s security and development. Relations between Viet Nam and Singapore have developed strongly since Viet Nam joined ASEAN in 1995. The two countries established a strategic partnership in 2013 and upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2025. These achievements reflect the high level of political trust, increasingly deep connection of interests, and shared strategic vision of the two countries in the new context. In terms of politics, leaders of Viet Nam and Singapore maintain regular high-level meetings and exchanges.

The high frequency of high-level visits between our two countries demonstrates three things. First, the foundation of our relationship is built upon very strong ties at the leadership level. Second, this reflects the importance both sides attach to the relationship. Third, it shows the strong momentum in bilateral ties since the two countries upgraded relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership last year.

Economic cooperation is a key pillar in relations between Viet Nam and Singapore. Singapore is currently one of Viet Nam’s leading economic partners and is also among the largest foreign investors in Viet Nam. Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tran Phuoc Anh stated that in 2025 the two countries reached a record milestone in bilateral trade turnover, valued at around 40 billion Singapore dollars (more than 31.3 billion USD), an increase of nearly 25% compared with 2024.

A typical symbol of successful economic cooperation is the network of Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP). Receiving strong support from the governments of both countries, since the launch of the first project in Binh Duong in 1996, VSIP has been continuously expanding and is operating effectively in many localities. The effectiveness of this model is reflected in its important contributions to Viet Nam during the period of accelerating industrialisation and modernisation through the formation of modern, safe, and environmentally friendly manufacturing clusters.

An article published on May 25 on the AsiaInvest Singapore website noted that after nearly three decades of development, the VSIP network has expanded to 22 industrial parks across Viet Nam and is expected to grow to 30 by the end of 2026. Beyond serving as hubs for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), these industrial parks have also contributed to technology transfer, industrial capacity upgrading, workforce development, and support for industrialisation efforts in many localities throughout Viet Nam.

According to the article, the increasingly deep economic ties between Singapore and Viet Nam reflect the two countries’ shared aspiration to play a greater role in ASEAN’s next phase of economic transformation, particularly in areas such as the digital economy, green transition, high-tech manufacturing, smart logistics, and emerging technologies.

Sharing expectations for elevating economic cooperation between Viet Nam and Singapore through the State visit to Singapore by General Secretary and President To Lam, Singapore’s Ambassador to Viet Nam Rajpal Singh stressed that Singapore aims to advance economic ties through two core priorities. The first is expanding the digital space. Singapore is working with Viet Nam to unlock the potential of the digital economy. As part of the visit, a special Tech Connect Forum will be held to connect digital enterprises from both countries and facilitate the signing of new agreements and projects. The second priority is enhancing cooperation in green and sustainable development. The two sides signed an Implementation Agreement on Carbon Credits in 2025 and are expected to launch projects in this field by the end of 2026.

Cooperation in science and technology is a key factor in strengthening ties between Viet Nam and Singapore. Viet Nam has advantages in terms of abundant human resources, a large market, and significant development potential, while Singapore possesses strengths in advanced technology, management expertise, and investment capital. The two countries are promoting initiatives in technology connectivity and innovation to link technology ecosystems, innovation hubs, tech enterprises, and highly skilled human resources. This direction of cooperation carries long-term strategic significance, aligning with Viet Nam’s development needs and Singapore’s strengths.

Both sides also have great potential for cooperation in new technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), new materials, and space technology. Viet Nam is very interested in these fields, while Singapore also aims to become a regional centre in the aforementioned fields, especially in setting standards and benchmarks in technology.

Regarding cooperation in education and human resource training, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on educational cooperation, establishing sister institutions, providing each other with many scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate training, and exchanging many delegations of officials, lecturers, and students from both countries. Over 21,000 mid-level and senior officials holding managerial positions in Viet Nam have participated in training under the Singapore Cooperation Programme over the past 30 years.

AFFIRMING VIET NAM’S GROWING POSITION AND PRESTIGE

The Shangri-La Dialogue is the leading security forum in the Asia-Pacific region, organised annually by the IISS in Singapore, bringing together many leading world leaders, defence ministers, scholars, and strategic experts. It is a prestigious forum with significant influence on issues of peace, security, and regional structure.

The fact that General Secretary and President To Lam is set to deliver the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue – the most important speech of the forum – demonstrates the international community’s respect and high regard for Viet Nam’s growing role, position, and prestige, as well as the role and prestige of General Secretary and President To Lam. This also reflects the interest of other countries in Viet Nam’s independent, self-reliant, peaceful, cooperative, and developmental foreign policy.

The keynote address by the Party General Secretary and State President is expected to convey Viet Nam’s views and messages to the international community on approaches to addressing current strategic challenges. The Party chief’s keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue reaffirms Viet Nam’s increasingly important role, standing and contributions to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, particularly at a time when the global landscape is undergoing profound changes marked by major-power competition, regional conflicts and supply chain disruptions.

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue demonstrates that Viet Nam is ready to play a more proactive role in addressing geopolitical and geo-economic instability. The Shangri-La Dialogue is a leading regional forum bringing together stakeholders to openly discuss ways to tackle shared challenges. The keynote address by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam will provide direction for future discussions and dialogue.

Carrying special significance and taking place amid rapidly growing Viet Nam-Singapore relations after more than half a century of companionship and effective cooperation, Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s state visit to Singapore, together with his attendance and keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, is expected to further strengthen political trust and elevate strategic coordination between the two countries.

Particularly as the regional and global situation undergoes significant changes, the two countries’ shared development vision and stronger strategic coordination at multilateral forums are important not only for their own development paths, but also for contributing to a peaceful, stable, cooperative and prosperous region.