In its article published on February 24, the newspaper quoted its e-mail interview with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on the eve of the three-day visit by President Phuc to Singapore, saying that Vietnam is fully confident that the trip will help Singaporean and international businesses better understand Vietnam's strong commitment to promoting socio-economic recovery and growth in the new normal.
Son said, “Vietnam will continue to improve its business and investment climate, facilitate more cooperation between the two sides' business communities in areas of mutual interest, especially the research, application and transfer of high technology, innovation, and the digital and green economy, in order to together contribute to the sustainable development in both countries and the region alike."
He said the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to shutting borders for some time, has not dented Vietnam-Singapore cooperation, adding that Singapore remains one of Vietnam's top investors, having committed nearly 11 billion USD last year.
The minister noted that along with the gradual resumption of international commercial flights, Singapore and Vietnam have recently agreed to recognize each other's vaccine credentials.
Son expressed his hope that the two countries will work together to facilitate each country's nationals to travel to the other to pursue education, work, healthcare and tourism, promote trade and investment, and strengthen cooperation in containing COVID-19.
A day earlier, the newspaper also reported on Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's assessment of Vietnam – Singapore diplomatic ties during nearly the last five decades.
The newspaper said that in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency ahead of the State visit by President Phuc, Vivian stressed that Singapore-Vietnam ties have grown from strength to strength since the two countries first established diplomatic relations in 1973.
This is mainly due to the high level of trust at the political level, longstanding win-win partnerships, and strong people-to-people ties, the minister said, adding that this will be the first State visit that Singapore is hosting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vivian said Singapore looks forward to keeping the partnership forward-looking by expanding into emerging areas, including accelerating cooperation in the digital economy in areas like cyber security, smart cities and digital payments.
Singapore is also keen to work with Vietnam in sustainable development as Vietnam increases investments in sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy, with the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The Straits Times has also published an article written by Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung, in which the diplomat highlighted the fruitful development of multi-faceted relations between the two countries.
The State visit by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is expected to create fresh impetus for the bilateral ties, especially cooperation for post-pandemic economic recovery and win-win development, and lay a foundation for more areas of cooperation, the ambassador wrote.
Source: VNA