The message emerged during talks between Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and State President, during the Vietnamese leader’s state visit to Singapore on May 29, reflecting a significant shift in cooperation thinking between two of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic economies. For many years, Vietnam-Singapore relations were primarily associated with trade, investment and the successful Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) model. Both sides are now seeking to redefine their strategic partnership around future growth platforms.

The two leaders devoted considerable attention to the strategic infrastructure of the new era, including digital transformation, science and technology, innovation, cybersecurity, emerging technologies, carbon credits, clean energy and financial centres.

The agenda highlighted efforts by both countries to reposition themselves within regional value chains being rapidly reshaped by artificial intelligence, technological competition and the global green transition.

One notable point of consensus was the commitment to making science, technology and innovation new pillars of the Vietnam-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

President Tharman expressed support for his guest’s proposal to promote a “government-business-research institute” connectivity model aimed at narrowing the gap between scientific research and practical application.

The approach reflects a broader regional trend in which national competitiveness is increasingly determined not by low labour costs or investment incentives, but by the ability to transform knowledge into technology and sustainable growth.

Beyond technology, energy connectivity also emerged as a strategic pillar of bilateral cooperation. Vietnam welcomed the ASEAN Power Grid initiative and affirmed its active participation in advancing the project, signaling that both countries seek not only to deepen bilateral ties but also to help shape new regional cooperation frameworks within ASEAN.

Amid intensifying strategic competition in the Asia-Pacific, both Vietnam and Singapore underscored the importance of reinforcing ASEAN centrality through regional initiatives in economic integration, energy connectivity and technological cooperation.

President Tharman noted that he and Singaporean leaders were looking forward to the Vietnamese leader’s keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue later on May 29, expressing interest in learning more about Vietnam’s vision for the region and the world.

The emphasis placed by Singapore’s leadership on the speech also reflected Vietnam’s growing profile as an increasingly influential voice in regional strategic affairs.

Beyond economics and technology, the two sides agreed to further deepen defence and security cooperation in line with the high level of political trust between the two countries, while strengthening social foundations through cultural exchanges and people-to-people ties.

Vietnam and Singapore upgraded their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2025. Their latest commitment to building a model partnership for a new era suggests an ambition to shape a new ASEAN cooperation framework that is more flexible, innovation-driven and adaptable to geopolitical and technological shifts.

During the talks, both host and guest agreed to deepen political trust and highly valued increasingly substantive cooperation between the ruling parties of their countries, laying foundations for long-term strategic connectivity and cooperation.

The two leaders also reaffirmed commitments to strengthening coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, supporting multilateralism and reinforcing the role of the United Nations in addressing global security and development challenges.

Both sides emphasised the importance of maintaining ASEAN centrality, particularly as Singapore prepares to assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027 and Vietnam hosts APEC in the same year, while also promoting negotiations toward an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

The leaders agreed to direct ministries and agencies to actively implement existing agreements and elevate the Vietnam-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to a new stage of qualitative development.

On the occasion, Party General Secretary and State President To Lam invited President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse to visit Vietnam. The Singaporean President accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Singapore holds grand welcoming ceremony for Vietnam’s top leader To Lam

VOV.VN - Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse held a grand state welcoming ceremony on May 29 for To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and State President, and his spouse during their three-day state visit to Singapore.