Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh is paying a working visit to Singapore from November 3-5 with the goal to remove obstacles in bilateral cooperation thus furthering the economic connectivity between Vietnam and Singapore.

During his stay, Minister Vinh held working sessions with Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang and leaders of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, Sembcorp Development Ltd. He also chaired a seminar calling for Singapore’s investment in Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency’s correspondents in Singapore, the minister said the main contents in his meetings with Singapore officials focused on specific measures to address difficulties in trade, investment, banking, aviation and some other areas in order to facilitate bilateral economic cooperation.

At the seminar on Phu Quoc Island, Minister Vinh gave detailed and clear explanations about the incident in May in Ho Chi Minh City, central Ha Tinh and the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong which was prompted by China’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will ensure safety and security for foreign investors, improving administrative procedures to facilitate their operations in the country.

The minister also informed the Singaporean partners that his ministry is drafting a law on special economic zone, with the focus on Phu Quoc in Kien Giang province, Van Don in northern Quang Ninh province, and Bac Van Phong in central Khanh Hoa province.

Vice Chairman of Kien Giang provincial People’s Committee Le Khac Ghi took the occasion to reiterate the province’s commitment to creating favourable conditions for foreign investors to do business in Phu Quoc.

Singaporean businesses said they are aware of Phu Quoc’s great potential and contributed their ideas to the island’s development planning. Representatives from Singapore’s three leading groups in marine transportation and luxury tourism expressed their hope that Phu Quoc will be a stopover for round-the-world tours.

At his working session with leaders of Sembcorp Development Ltd, Minister Vinh said the group’s five Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) in Vietnam have helped create jobs for more than 140,000 Vietnamese labourers. He proposed speeding up the project to build the 6th VSIP in the central province of Nghe An.

On November 5, the minister is scheduled to attend a seminar to promote investment in Ha Tinh province with the aim of calling for Singapore’s investment in petrochemical industry, logistics, services, processing technology and infrastructure.

Singapore is now the third largest foreign investor in Vietnam with 1,330 valid projects worth over 32.6 billion USD.-VNA