Earlier, Mr Lee visited the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi and UNESCO-recognised Ha Long Bay in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh.

While staying in Vietnam, Mr Lee held talks with Mr Dung and met with Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

They all expressed pleasure at the rapid and positive development of the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, especially in politics, trade, investment, education-training, tourism, finance, and transport, when the Vietnam-Singapore Connectivity Framework Agreement has been carried out for five years. They agreed to expand cooperation in other areas, including construction and urban planning.

The leaders also agreed that Vietnam and Singapore will continue to work closely together in regional and international forums such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the United Nations (UN).