The top legislator held that Wong's official visit, along with Party General Secretary To Lam’s recent official visit to Singapore in the context that the two sides are celebrating important milestones such as Vietnam’s 80th National Day, Singapore’s 60th National Day, and the 30th anniversary of Vietnam’s ASEAN membership, reflects the strong and trusted political ties between the two countries.
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National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man (right) welcomes Singaporean PM Lawrence Wong. |
He highly valued Singapore’s role in supporting Vietnam’s market economy development and international integration, as well as Singapore’s valuable experience in building a rule-of-law state, fostering a knowledge-based economy, promoting innovation, and ensuring sustainable development.
The leader expressed his pleasure at the strong and substantive growth of Vietnam-Singapore relations over the past more than five decades, particularly in economic, trade, and investment cooperation.
In 2024, bilateral trade reached 10.3 billion USD, while Singapore remained Vietnam’s second-largest foreign investor, with cumulative investments exceeding 80 billion USD. The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) have been seen as a model of successful cooperation, he noted.
N.A. Chairman Man also highlighted progress in cooperation in defense-security, education and training, science and technology, tourism, labor, and people-to-people exchanges.
He emphasized that the comprehensive strategic partnership marks a milestone in bilateral relations, praising the recent contributions of parliamentary cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore.
The two legislatures are effectively implementing the cooperation agreement signed in May 2022, as well as the shared perceptions reached during Man’s visit to Singapore in December 2024.
He stressed the importance of maintaining high-level exchanges and cooperation between legislative committees and agencies, friendship parliamentary groups, and young and female parliamentarians.
The two sides have exchanged legislative experience and agreed to work together to oversee the implementation of agreements. They will maintain mutual support at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the N.A. leader noted.
For his part, Wong said he is impressed by Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements, particularly its high, stable economic growth despite global and regional uncertainties.
He highlighted new areas of cooperation, including food security, green economy, digital transformation, and renewable energy. The Singaporean PM also emphasized the importance of further developing the VSIP 2.0 model.
He praised the role of the Vietnamese N.A. in creating a favorable legal framework for socio-economic development and international cooperation.
Man pledged that the Vietnamese N.A. will back Singaporean businesses and foreign investors in Vietnam. He expressed confidence that bilateral economic and trade cooperation will expand and improve in quality in the coming years. Vietnam seeks to learn from Singapore’s expertise in building an innovation ecosystem, digital transformation, and developing a high-quality workforce.
He affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to create favorable conditions for Singaporean businesses to expand their investments, especially in high-tech industries, renewable energy, and high-value-added supporting industries.
At the meeting, the two sides underscored the importance of building a united and self-reliant ASEAN community and promoting the bloc's centrality, as well as the crucial role of the AIPA.
They also vowed to continue close cooperation and mutual support at multilateral forums and organizations, including regional and global inter-parliamentary forums, while maintaining an environment of peace and stability. They shared the view that disputes in the East Sea should be settled through peaceful measures.
Source: VNA