Along with the official visit to Singapore by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse in February 2023, this is an important external event and a highlight of this year in which the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership.
Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong's official visit to Vietnam takes place in the context that the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership continues to develop dynamically and strongly in many fields. Political cooperation has been effectively implemented, with the delegation exchanges and contacts at high-level and all levels enhanced and achieve high efficiency. Specifically, PM Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Singapore in February was a great success, achieving many concrete and practical results.
In the field of economy, trade and investment, Singapore is the leading important partner of Vietnam in the region. The two countries have been always among each other’s 15 largest trading partners; Vietnam is currently Singapore's 12th largest trading partner and Singapore is Vietnam's 15th largest trading partner. Trade turnover between the two countries reached about 9.15 billion USD in 2022, up 11.6% over 2021. In the first six months of 2023, their two-way trade turnover was about 4.5 billion USD.
With 3,274 projects and total registered capital of 73.5 billion USD, Singapore ranks second among the 143 countries and territories and leads ASEAN in terms of investment in Vietnam.
With 3,274 projects and total registered capital of 73.5 billion USD, Singapore ranks second among the 143 countries and territories and leads ASEAN in terms of investment in Vietnam.
Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) is a symbol of the success of economic cooperation between the two countries, with 14 VSIPs in 10 provinces and cities in Vietnam. Vietnam currently has 153 investment projects in Singapore, focusing on the science-technology, processing, and manufacturing industries.
The two countries’ cooperation in the fields of security, defence, education-training, creative innovation, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchange has been boosted strongly and substantively. During PM Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Singapore, the two countries announced the establishment of a digital economy-green economy partnership, creating a premise for their cooperation in new fields towards green and sustainable development.
As ASEAN members, Vietnam and Singapore have closely cooperated in regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea/South China Sea issue. The two countries have also coordinated well at multilateral organisations and forums, especially ASEAN, APEC, and the United Nations, as well as in the implementation of new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Taking place as Vietnam and Singapore celebrate their 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and 10th anniversary of strategic partnership, PM Lee Hsien Loong's official visit to Vietnam is of great significance. Expressing Singapore’s importance attached the two countries' relations and consideration of Vietnam as an important partner in the region, the visit contributes to strengthening political trust, expanding and elevating cooperation, and developing the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership in a substantive and effective manner. The visit demonstrates the closeness between the two ASEAN members and reflects both countries' desire to further strengthen trust, cooperation, and coordination at regional and international forums.
Welcoming Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong, Vietnam continues to affirm its importance and aspiration to create a new impetus for the relations between the two countries, contributing to consolidating and strengthening the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership. The visit also affirms the 13th Vietnamese Party Congress’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, multilateralisation, and diversification of foreign relations, which aim to continue deepening international relations and increasing reliability, with priority given to developing relations with neighbouring countries and ASEAN members. The success of PM Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to Vietnam will boost the impetus to strengthen multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, bringing the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership into a new stage of more practical and profound development.
