The seventh Vietnam-Singapore Ministerial Meeting on Economic Connectivity, presided over by Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc and Singaporean Minister of Industry and Trade Lim Hng Kiang, took place in Hanoi on July 4.

Attending the meeting were representatives of ministries, sectors and localities of Vietnam and Singapore involved in cooperative activities in the framework of six fields of the Vietnam-Singapore Agreement on Economic Connectivity (VSAEC), plus major groups and companies of Singapore which were cooperating with Vietnam in selected projects.

During the meeting, the two sides informed each other about the results of economic cooperation between the two countries over the recent eight months. They also exchanged measures to strengthen and further promote economic cooperation between the two countries.

Vietnam affirmed its viewpoints and interests in economic cooperation with Singapore , suggesting that Singapore closely work with Vietnam to deploy new initiatives in the framework of VSAEC.

Vietnam also encouraged Singaporean businesses to invest in the country, aiming to foster equal and mutually beneficial cooperative relations between the two countries’ partners.

Signed in 2005, VSAEC was a comprehensive cooperative programme between the Vietnamese and Singaporean governments, focusing on specific fields including finance; education and training; transport; information technology and communications; investment, trade and services.

Under VSAEC, the Vietnam-Singapore Ministerial Meeting on Economic Connectivity is organised annually to review the implementation of the agreed contents as well as to plan action programmes for cooperation in the future.

The next meeting was scheduled to take place in Singapore later this year./.