PANO – Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang continued his State visit to Singapore by meeting with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean. The Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister then escorted the Vietnamese President to the 38th Singapore Lecture held by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS).
At the 38th Singapore Lecture, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean and themed “Strengthening partnership for regional sustainable development,” Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang delivered a keynote speech.
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| President Trang Dai Quang speaking at the 38th Singapore Lecture |
President Tran Dai Quang is the first Vietnamese leader to deliver a Singapore Lecture.
In his lecture, President Quang noted that the trends for regional development were favorable, and these include the commitment of countries in Southeast Asia to cooperate in achieving the 2030 United Nations Agenda Sustainable Development (SDA), and the international community’s pledge to fulfill the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (COP 21). At the same time, he raised concerns about the traditional as well as non-traditional security challenges facing countries in the region, which may derail their joint efforts to promote sustainable development.
“Should we allow instability to take place, especially in the case of armed conflicts, there will be neither winners nor losers, but rather all will lose,” he stressed.
President Quang emphasized that for regional countries to deal with these challenges, the existence of a “multipolar, multi-layered regional architecture in which ASEAN played a central role” was critical, and that there should be no place for the “might makes right” mindset to grow, or for the use of force.
President Quang highlighted Vietnam’s reform efforts to speed up its national development in a sustainable way and stressed its foreign policy of “diversification and multilateralization” aimed at developing friendly ties with neighboring countries, promoting cooperation with major and important partners, and keeping its international commitments.
Addressing Vietnam’s position on the South China Sea (East Sea) dispute, President Quang reaffirmed that Vietnam seeks to settle disputes by peaceful means through the political, diplomatic and legal process on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Finally, President Quang expressed his appreciation of the role that Singapore has played in Vietnam’s economic development over the past three decades. He thanked Singapore leaders, especially late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, for the practical and effective assistance that Singapore has accorded Vietnam in recent years.
Looking forward, President Quang expressed hope that Vietnam and Singapore could work together to further deepen their bilateral Strategic Partnership in all areas. The goal of the bilateral partnership, he stressed, is “nothing but a prosperous Singapore and a sustainably developing Vietnam” which can contribute to the “building of a prosperous ASEAN Community and an Asia-Pacific region of peace, security and development”.
President Quang’s lecture was attended by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong; Mr. Chan Chun Sing, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and Minister-in-Attendance; Mrs. Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Transport); Dr. Mohamad Maliki Osman, Senior Minister of State (Defense & Foreign Affairs) and Ms. Catherine Wong, Singapore’s Ambassador-Designate to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese delegation included Minister, Chairman of President’s Office Dao Viet Trung; Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung; Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh; Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha; Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Thanh; Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu Hong Nam; Chairman of Binh Duong provincial People's Committee Tran Thanh Liem; and Vietnam’s Ambassador to Singapore Nguyen Tien Minh.
About 550 people, including diplomats, government officials, business leaders, academics, students and members of the media also attended the event and listened to the Vietnamese President’s lecture.
On August 30 afternoon, before concluding the State visit to Singapore, President Tran Dai Quang, his spouse and entourage toured the One North Business Park in Singapore.
Reported by Van Yen from Singapore
Translated by Thu Nguyen
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>> Vietnam-Singapore Joint Press Statement
>> President Tran Dai Quang begins visit to Singapore