NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (L) and Singaporean President Halimah Yacob
The top Vietnamese legislator made
the suggestion during her meeting with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob on
November 27 as part of her official visit to the country.
Highlighting the fruitful political
ties between Vietnam and Singapore, NA
Chairwoman Ngan said progresses have also been made in cooperation in trade,
investment, national defense and security, culture and people-to-people
exchange.
The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial
Park (VSIP) has become a symbol of successful and mutually beneficial
cooperation between the two countries, she said, describing Singapore as Vietnam’s leading trade and
investment partner, and a country which has trained many Vietnamese students.
The chief legislator underscored
Halimah Yacob’s contributions to legislative ties between Vietnam and Singapore
in her capacity as Singapore’s
Parliament Speaker in the past, saying the two sides have regularly exchanged
high-level delegations, information and experience.
She expressed her hope that
President Halimah Yacob will contribute more to the relations between the two
parliaments, thus helping deepen the strategic partnership between the two
countries.
The NA Chairwoman extended President
Tran Dai Quang’s invitation to President Halimah Yacob to visit Vietnam
on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2018.
In reply, President Halimah Yacob
praised Vietnam’s efforts in
successfully hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic
Leaders’ Week in the central city of Da
Nang from November 6-11.
She also applauded outcomes of
cooperation between Vietnam
and Singapore across
spheres, especially in economy, saying Singapore
is Vietnam’s
third largest investor.
The President used the occasion to
call for Vietnam’s support
for Singapore
as the rotating Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in
2018.
Stressing Vietnam’s
role in advancing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP), formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Agreement, Halimah Yacob said concerned parties should continue to concretize
the deal for early approval and implementation, thus benefiting Vietnam, Singapore and other signatories.
The President noted her hope that
Vietnamese and Singaporean firms will seek business opportunities during NA
Chairwoman Ngan’s visit.
She called on the two countries to
step up cooperation within ASEAN, informing that ASEAN 1018 will take the theme
of resilience and innovation.
Halimah Yacob also underlined the
need for ASEAN to enhance intra-bloc cooperation to deal with common issues and
speed up the formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
She said apart from political,
economic and cultural links, people-to-people exchange also plays an important
role, adding that many Singaporeans now want to visit Vietnam.
Source: VNA