Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse (Photo: VNA) The visits are made at the invitations ofSingaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam,Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
This is the first trip to the two countries by Chinhin his new position, and also the first to Singapore by a head of theVietnamese Government over the past five years, and to Brunei over the past 15years.
PM Chinh and his entourage are scheduled to visitSingapore from February 8-10, and Brunei from February 10-11, aiming tostrengthen bilateral ties with the two nations, and enhance cooperation in regional and international issues of mutual concern, including coordination in ASEAN and regional and international forums and organisations.
The visits are expected to deepen the strategicpartnership with Singapore, an important economic partner of Vietnam, and thecomprehensive partnership with Brunei, also a promising economic partner.
This year, Vietnam and Singapore will celebrate the50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary ofbilateral comprehensive partnership. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Brunei marked the30th anniversary of their diplomatic ties last year.
Singapore is now Vietnam’s top important economicpartner in the region, with two-way trade nearing 9 billion USD last year, up10.1% annually. The island state leads ASEAN and ranks second among the 141countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 3,032 valid projects worth70.39 billion USD.
At present,12 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks in nine Vietnamese cities and provinceshave an occupancy rate of around 83.2%, attracting 17.6 billion USD for some900 projects and generating roughly 300,000 jobs.
PM Chinh’s visit to Singapore aims to liftVietnam-Singapore economic connectivity to a greater height in the context thata series of new-generation free trade deals joined by the two nations havetaken effect, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement onTrans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Meanwhile,two-way trade between Vietnam and Brunei hit 725.8 million USD in 2022, up 134%year-on-year, surpassing the goal of 500 million USD set for 2025 by theirleaders.
In the near future, the two sides hope toboost joint work in promising areas such as agro-forestry-fisheries, Halalfood, construction, infrastructure and joint ventures.
As ofDecember 2022, Brunei ranked 26th out of the 141 countries and territories investingin Vietnam with 157 valid projects valued at 971 million USD, mostly inindustry, manufacturing and processing, construction and real estate. Thesouthern province of Dong Nai was the biggest recipient of its investmentcapital, followed by Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Long Anh, Thai Binh and PhuTho./.
VNA
