Vietnam considered important regional partner of Singapore

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan made the statement during talks held with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son who paid an official visit to Singapore from July 17 to July 18.

The first official visit to Singapore by Minister Son takes place amid the two countries celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties and 10 years of a strategic partnership.

During the course of talks the Singaporean FM welcomed the first official visit made to Singapore by FM Son and highlighted the visit as one of the important activities on the occasion that the two countries are launching a wide range of activities marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10 years of their strategic partnership.

The two ministers expressed their satisfaction at the increasingly close and effective development of the two countries, with this being reflected in the frequency of high-level visits and bilateral co-operation mechanisms.

Economic, trade, and investment links are constantly being promoted, with Singapore leading ASEAN and ranking second in the world in terms of investment capital in the Vietnamese market with 3,273 projects, with a total capital of US$73.453 billion, duly accounting for about 23% of total registered FDI capital.

Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks continued to operate effectively and was constantly expanded and upgraded, thereby becoming a symbol of success in investment collaboration between the two countries.

Ties in other important fields such as national defence, security, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges have been boosted as a contribution to enhancing mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Regarding orientations for future co-operation, the two ministers consented to co-ordinate with relevant ministries and sectors as a means of effectively realising the results achieved during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Singapore in February.

They agreed to focus on competently preparing upcoming high-level visits, especially the official visit to Vietnam by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as a way of contributing to the effective implementation of signed co-operation agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding on establishing the Vietnam-Singapore Digital Economy-Green Economy Partnership.

They will continue to co-ordinate to hold many important commemorative activities on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the joint strategic partnership.

The two sides also concurred to work together as a way of speeding up negotiations and sign important co-operation documents in the coming time, including a document to upgrade the Framework Agreement on Connecting the two economies.

Regarding regional and international issues of shared concern, the two diplomats agreed that amid complicated and unpredictable developments in both the world and region as a whole, the two countries need to continue to strengthen ties, reinforce solidarity, and promote ASEAN's central role, especially in strategic issues such as peace and stability in the East Sea and the region. They also agreed to consider supporting each other's candidates to international organisations and the UN.

With regard to the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed to build the East Sea into a sea of peace, co-operation, and development, whilst working together with ASEAN member states to strictly and fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), striving to soon achieve an effective, efficient, and consistent Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

At the end of the talks, Foreign Minister Balakrishan invited his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son and his delegation to visit and enjoy Singapore's culinary culture at Maxwell Food Centre.

This represents one of the famous food centers in Singapore, home to more than 100 stalls, thereby creating one of the largest collections of local dishes in the "lion island nation".

The same day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son had a meeting with Singaporean Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, during which they agreed to continuously contribute to advancing the bilateral cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Singapore, including bolstering cooperation and accelerating the signing of documents in security and defence.

They vowed to jointly maintain peace, stability and cooperation in the region,  reinforce solidarity and unity, contribute to building a resilient and prosperous ASEAN and promote its central role, especially in strategic regional issues of the region.

During his visit to Singapore, Son and his delegation together with officials of the Vietnamese Embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies visited and offered flowers to President Ho Chi Minh's monument at the Asian Civilisations Museum.