Can Tho eyes stronger investment, trade ties with Singapore
Can Tho city wishes to expand its comprehensive cooperation with Singapore, an official from the Mekong Delta city told Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam at a meeting on November 24.
During a working session with the Singaporean guest, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Le Quang Manh said the central government has invested in socio-economic infrastructure and other conditions in Can Tho with a view to turning it into one of the new growth engines of the country.
The city boasts great potential for developing agriculture, industry, tourism, and international trade, he said, adding that there is big room for Singapore to expand investment in many fields in Can Tho.
As of October this year, Can Tho was home to 13 Singapore-invested projects worth US$287.05 million. Singapore ranks first in the number of projects and second in the total registered investment capital among foreign investors in Can Tho.
In October, Can Tho sent a working delegation to Singapore, aiming to seek cooperation opportunities with Singaporean partners. During the visit, Can Tho agencies signed MoUs on cooperation with Singaporean partners in the fields of tourism, logistics, agro-aquaculture imports and exports, market development, and information exchange.
Liem said he hopes Ambassador Ratnam will support the effective implementation of the MoUs, and encourage more Singaporean businesses to invest in the Mekong Delta locality, especially in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP Can Tho) after it is completed.
Ratnam said Can Tho is a young and dynamic city, so it holds potential destination for Singaporean investors.
VSIP Can Tho is the 12th VSIP project in Vietnam and the first in the Mekong Delta, he noted, adding that via the project, Singapore wants to accompany Can Tho in realising its goal to become a centre for food processing and distribution and infrastructure development in the Mekong Delta region, thus contributing to the socio- economic development of the locality and Vietnam in general.
Singapore hopes to further expand its multifaceted cooperation with Can Tho, he said, suggesting Can Tho promote the opening of a direct route to Singapore in the coming time.