On that basis, the two countries are making efforts to exploit cooperation potential in new fields, contributing to creating momentum for developing their relations deeper and more effective.
Vietnam and Singapore officially established diplomatic ties in 1973. After being lifted to a strategic partnership in 2013, the two country’s relations have increasingly been consolidated and developed strongly. In recent years, their long-standing friendship and cooperation have continued to be developed. To orient the overall cooperation between the two sides in all fields, Vietnam and Singapore have regularly held many meetings and exchanges for delegations at all levels.
In addition, bilateral cooperation mechanisms have also been maintained flexibly and effectively, contributing to strengthening the development of their cooperation, even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Economic cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore is a bright spot, bringing many practical benefits to both countries. Despite being affected by the pandemic, trade turnover between the two countries still reached 8.3 billion USD in 2021. As of August 2022, bilateral trade turnover reached 6.3 billion USD, up 16.8% over the same period in 2021. As two complementary economies, Vietnam and Singapore have a lot of cooperation potential towards the recovery and development following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Singapore is the leading investor in Vietnam, with 2,959 valid projects and total registered investment capital of 69.86 billion USD. The “lion island” nation continues to be Vietnam's largest investor in ASEAN and ranks second among countries and territories conducting investment in Vietnam.
The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) has become a symbol of successful economic cooperation between the two countries, with a total registered investment capital of about 18.1 billion USD. The VSIPs have also created jobs for nearly 300,000 direct workers. The two sides have been promoting the expansion and development of the VSIP model towards smart and high-tech industrial parks.
Regarding defence-security cooperation, the two sides have maintained high-level delegation exchanges and existing dialogue and cooperation mechanisms. To strengthen friendship and mutual understanding, the two countries have paid great attention to promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, education and training. During the fight against COVID-19, Vietnam and Singapore supported each other with many medical supplies and equipment, making practical contributions to the efforts to repel the pandemic. Their cooperation in many other aspects such as finance-banking and natural resources and the environment has continued to be enhanced.
Along with bilateral cooperation, Vietnam and Singapore have also supported each other and worked closely at multilateral organisations and forums, such as the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). They have actively contributed to the peace, stability, cooperation and development of the region. Both countries are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Vietnam and Singapore are striving to make effective use of the benefits from these agreements to promote the post-pandemic economic recovery and development of each country, as well as the region.
During recent high-level visits, leaders from the two countries agreed on the direction for future cooperation in several areas including digital economy, digital transformation, regional and global supply chain connectivity, green economy and sustainable development. Their efforts in exploiting new cooperation opportunities and fostering cooperation in traditional fields are expected to nurture the strategic partnership between the two nations.
The results obtained from their joint efforts will mark more important cooperation milestones, especially in the context that Vietnam and Singapore are looking forward to the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership in 2023.
