Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son begins Singapore visit today
VOV.VN - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Bui Thanh Son is scheduled to pay an official visit to Singapore from July 17 – 19 at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan.
The visit takes place at a time when the Vietnam – Singapore strategic partnership is developing dynamically in all areas. This year the two countries are celebrating 50 years of their diplomacy and 10 years of the strategic partnership.
The two countries have regularly maintained high-level visit exchanges to outline orientations for future cooperation. Most recently Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made an official visit to Singapore at the invitation of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Singapore is currently Vietnam’s leading economic partner in Southeast Asia. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries last year hit US$9.15 billion, representing a year-on-year rise of 11.57%.
Singapore is Vietnam’s largest foreign investors in Southeast Asia and the second largest in the world, with 3,246 valid projects valued at US$73.4 billion.
The Vietnam – Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) has become a success story in bilateral economic cooperation, with 14 such VSIPs taking shape in 10 localities in Vietnam. These VSIPs have so far attracted 866 projects worth US$18.7 billion, and generated nearly 300,000 jobs.
Cooperation in the fields of security-defense, education, culture, and tourism has also been strengthened over the years through the signing of a number of cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding.
Currently the two countries are keen to boost cooperation in new fields such as digital economy, green economy, digital transformation, supply chain connectivity regionally and globally, sustainable development, and supply chain collaboration.
The two countries have closely coordinated in addressing regional and global issues, including the East Sea (South China Sea) issue. They have also worked closely towards enhancing cooperation at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Meeting (APEC), as well as implementing bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements to which they are both signatories, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Rregional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
During the visit, FM Bui Thanh Son will hold talks with FM Vivian Balakrishnan, and meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.
