Vietnam, Singapore issue Joint Statement
The statement runs as follows:
At the invitation of H.E. Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, H.E. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of
the Republic of Singapore and Mrs Lee Hsien Loong paid an official
visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 11 - 13 September 2013.
The visit is a highlight of the 40 th anniversary of the establishment
of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Singapore .
During the visit, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong paid courtesy calls
on General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong
and President Truong Tan Sang; met Chairman of the National Assembly
Nguyen Sinh Hung and held official talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung, followed by a reception. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also attended the ground breaking ceremony of
the 5 th Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park in Quang
Ngai Province .
On this occasion, both sides reaffirmed
the strong relations of friendship, comprehensive cooperation and
mutual trust between Vietnam and Singapore and agreed to build
upon existing bilateral agreements, including the Joint Declaration
on Comprehensive Cooperation Framework in the 21 st Century (2004) and
the Framework Agreement on Connectivity (2005) to further enhance
bilateral cooperation . They also shared the common view that the
further consolidation of long-term, stable and comprehensive relations
between Vietnam and Singapore will not only serve the well-being
of both countries, but also contribute to the promotion of peace,
stability, prosperity and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific as well as the
realization of the ASEAN Community by 2015 .
From that
recognition and based on the Joint Press Communiqué in the official
visit to the Republic of Singapore by General Secretary of the Communist
Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong (9/2012) on elevating bilateral
relations to a strategic partnership, both sides agreed to establish
a Strategic Partnership on the basis of mutual respect, trust and
benefit. The Strategic Partnership shall conform to the UN and ASEAN
Charters, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia , and
other universally recognized principles of international law.
In accordance with this Strategic Partnership, both sides have reached
the understanding to enhance cooperation between the two countries in
the following areas:
On Deepening Political Relations of Mutual Trust
1. Promote regular high-level exchanges in order to give impetus
to the strategic cooperation between the two countries; establish direct
communications between the Leaders of the two countries; welcome and
facilitate parliamentary cooperation and increased exchanges between
their government agencies, aimed at strengthening the political
relationship and deepening mutual understanding and cooperation.
2. Facilitate dialogue and strengthen coordination between the two
countries on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual
concern, through annual consultations between the two Foreign
Ministries.
On Strengthening Economic Cooperation
3. Expand economic, trade and investment cooperation by creating
favourable investment climates and strengthening business linkages and
partnerships; continue to build on the Connectivity Framework Agreement
to deepen bilateral economic engagement in all sectors of economic
cooperation; encourage and support information-sharing, exchanges and
linkages between the business communities of the two countries.
4. Continue to support joint business projects such as the
Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) which is a model of the
mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore based on
public-private sector partnerships; continue, on the basis of such a
model, to step up cooperation in key sectors such as transportation,
information and communications technology, finance, banking, industry,
urban management and development, investment projects, logistics,
education and training, trade and services, and creative industries;
consider to enhance bilateral cooperation in other promising areas,
including cruise tourism, commodities trading, healthcare, agriculture
and aquaculture.
5. Continue to encourage the flow of
bilateral investments and trade. Singapore welcomes Vietnam ’s
intention to increase its exports in the Singapore market,
including agriculture, aquaculture and food produce. Singapore would
explore with Vietnam ways to develop technical expertise in areas
such as establishing environmental frameworks for dredging works
necessary for port or waterway development, laboratory training for food
safety, exchange programmes on animal disease diagnostics and training
programmes on urban development and management.
6.
Reaffirm their desire to strengthen bilateral financial cooperation,
including sharing of experience in customs (single window custom,
e-customs procedure process) and tax (tax administration and tax
policies) matters, and further support economic linkages between both
countries; encourage increased access to each other’s financial sectors,
which will promote more cross-border exchanges of expertise and
investments; actively implement the Memorandum of Understanding on
Financial Cooperation (2012); recognise the importance of working
together to promote regional financial stability through fora such as
ASEAN, ASEAN Plus Three, and others.
7. Welcome the
progress achieved thus far under the ASEAN Roadmap for Integration of
Air Travel Sector and the ASEAN Multilateral Agreement on the Full
Liberalisation of Passenger Air Services. Recognising the benefits
accruing to both countries from strengthened air links, both sides agree
to build on these agreements and enhance further cooperation in this
field, including air services liberalization on a bilaterally agreed
basis, t o support the expansion of economic, trade, investment and
tourism cooperation as well as people-to-people links.
8.
Boost tourism cooperation between the two countries and with other
countries in the region; further strengthen cooperation on tourism
promotion and exchange of tourism information through the
Singapore-Vietnam Tourism Cooperation (SVTC) platform.
On Enhancing Security and Defence Cooperation
9. Continue to build on the Defence Cooperation Agreement (2009)
and further strengthen bilateral defence ties, mutual understanding and
trust by increasing cooperation in areas such as military and training
exchanges in both countries, multilateral cooperation within ASEAN
Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus, as well as through
further exchange of views on security issues of common interest.
10. Enhance security cooperation, including capacity-building and
exchange of information and intelligence; promote regular exchange of
visits at the Deputy Ministerial level between Vietnam’s Ministry of
Public Security and Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs; review and set
direction for cooperation as outlined in the Cooperation
Arrangement to Prevent and Combat Transnational Crimes (signed in 2006
and extended in 2012), or under the framework of the ASEAN Plan of
Action to Combat Transnational Crime, or the Regional Cooperation
Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia
(ReCAAP); and i ncrease the exchange of information and coordination
of activities in order to combat transnational crimes and piracy.
11. Condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and
strengthen cooperation to counter international terrorism.
On Promoting Other Areas of Bilateral Cooperation
12. Express satisfaction and appreciation for the role played by
the Singapore Cooperation Programme, the Vietnam-Singapore Training
Centre and Vietnam-Singapore Centre for Educational Excellence; enhance
cooperation in human resource development under the Singapore
Cooperation Programme, the Vietnam - Singapore Training Centre, the
Vietnam - Singapore Centre for Educational Excellence and the Initiative
for ASEAN Integration (IAI) in areas jointly identified by both sides
that support Vietnam’s continued development and promote ASE AN
integration.
13. Continue to build on the Memorandum
of Understanding on Educational Cooperation (2007) and work through the
bilateral Joint Working Group on Education to deepen professional
linkages, facilitate exchanges of visits and encourage institutional
linkages.
14. Work together to further good governance,
the rule of law, and continue to cooperate in legal and judicial areas
for the better understanding of each other’s laws, legal systems and
institutions. In this regard, both sides will exchange visits and
promote information exchanges between their respective legal and
judicial agencies, tertiary-level institutions and dispute resolution
centres as provided under the Singapore - Vietnam Memorandum of
Understanding on Legal and Judicial Cooperation (2008). Both sides are
committed to maintaining the access enjoyed by each country to the
other’s legal services industry and exploring ways of enhancing such
access, and endeavour to explore means to enhance mutual cooperation and
assistance in civil matters.
15. Agree to enhance existing
cooperation in the field of public health, including information
exchange, research, health care-related education and training
attachments at our academic institutions, through mutually beneficial
arrangements.
16. Endeavour to foster cooperation in
culture, arts and sports, as well as encourage more youth exchanges in
order to strengthen people-to-people links and deepen understanding
between the two societies.
On Strengthening Cooperation in International and Regional Fora
17. Endeavour to enhance their bilateral partnership and cooperate
with other countries in order to contribute to the promotion of peace,
stability, prosperity and cooperation in the region, as well as to meet
new regional and international challenges.
18. Reaffirm
the respect for fundamental principles of the UN Charter and
international law, including the principles of respect for independence,
sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as non-interference in
internal affairs of States.
19. Acknowledge the vital
importance of the role of the UN in maintaining world peace, stability
and development; cooperate to strengthen the UN’s role in promoting
international security, as well as efforts to reform the UN system.
20. Recognise the importance of free trade and open markets in
ensuring continued global economic growth and development; continue to
work together to promote free trade, promote deeper regional integration
through regional fora such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC),
and strengthen the multilateral trading system by working to ensure
that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) remains relevant to current and
future realities; support the successful conclusion of the Trans Pacific
Partnership (TPP) agreement, ensuring its benefits to all the
developmentally diverse members.
21. Continue to
cooperate on initiatives aimed at consolidating ASEAN as the central
driving force in the evolving regional architecture; recognise the
maintenance of peace and stability in the region depends on ASEAN’s
continued centrality, which in turn hinges on ASEAN’s autonomy,
credibility and cohesion, and the consolidation of ASEAN’s relationships
with key Dialogue Partners; enhance ASEAN coordination within regional
and international fora such as APEC, Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the
UN.
22. Work together to achieve an integrated ASEAN
Community and implement ASEAN’s goals for 2015 and beyond to ensure the
long-term growth and prosperity of the region; commit to the
implementation of initiatives such as the Master Plan on ASEAN
Connectivity which aims to enhance connectivity among Member States, and
the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which would enhance
economic linkages between ASEAN and its Free Trade Agreement Partners.
23. Work more closely to narrow the development gap
within ASEAN under the IAI as well as other regional and sub-regional
cooperation projects in which both countries are involved or have common
interests.
24. Work with other ASEAN member countries
to ensure peace, stability, freedom of navigation, maritime security and
safety in the region, including in the South China Sea; resolve
disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law,
including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS); refrain from the use of force or threat to use force; fully
implement the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties on the South China
Sea (DOC) and the Joint Statement of 15 th ASEAN-China Summit on the
10th Anniversary of the DOC; and reach an early conclusion of a Code of
Conduct on the South China Sea (COC).
25. Work closely to
promote regional dialogue and cooperation on maritime issues, including
within the framework of the ASEAN Maritime Forum, the Expanded ASEAN
Maritime Forum and other existing ASEAN mechanisms.
26.
Endeavour to enhance ASEAN’s role in the global community by achieving
the goals set out in the Bali Declaration on an ASEAN Community in a
Global Community of Nations (Bali Concord III) adopted by ASEAN leaders
in November 2011.
27. In order to realise the Strategic
Partnership, both sides agreed to task the two Ministries of Foreign
Affairs to be the focal points, in collaboration with relevant
Ministries, to provide ways and means to ensure the concrete and
effective implementation of and, through existing bilateral cooperation
mechanisms, to periodically review the Strategic Partnership.-VNA