Hai Phong marks Vietnam-Singapore diplomatic ties

The event was co-held by the city’s Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations’ Hai Phong chapter.

In his remarks at the event, Vice Chairman of the Hai Phong People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thanh thanked the Government and people of Singapore for their valuable and effective support for Hai Phong, and Vietnam in general.

Singapore holds with the largest number of FDI projects in Hai Phong, operating some 30 projects worth a total of nearly US$700 million. Chief among these is the Urban, Industry, and Services Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park Hai Phong which has attracted a number of multinational corporations such as Nipro Pharma and Fuji Xerox, Thanh briefed.

The Government of Singapore has offered Hai Phong several scholarships for training courses on sustainable urban planning and public management, while the port city has also welcomed a number of student delegations from Singapore on field trips to Vietnam, he said.

The municipal leader urged the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association in Hai Phong to further promote the two countries’ Strategic Partnership alongside Hai Phong-Singapore relations to local people, including organising activities to consolidate and develop multifaceted collaborations between people of the two sides. It must also actively take part in activities hosted by the Embassy of Singapore and the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association, he added.

For his part, Chargé d’Affaires of the Singaporean Embassy in Vietnam Tan Weiming said 2018 is a significant year for Vietnam and Singapore as the two nations celebrate the 45th year of their diplomatic ties. Singapore and Vietnam have shared many interests and worked closely with each other within ASEAN forums on various issues, including discussions on free trade and security threats.

Economic cooperation is among the key pillars of bilateral relations. Singapore is the third largest investor in Vietnam with US$43 billion pumped into more than 1,800 projects.

The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) are a solid symbol of the close economic ties between the two countries. The first VSIP was established in 1996. Since then, six more VSIPs have opened up in Vietnam, attracting more than US$10 billion in FDI and creating over 174,000 jobs.