Singapore is set to demonstrate its faith in Vietnam’s long-term future with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong due to officiate the ground-breaking of the fifth Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in Quang Ngai province on September 13, according to The Straits Times.

In a news story published on September 11, when the Singaporean Prime Minister arrived in Vietnam for a three-day official visit, the Singapore top daily writes that with the visit, the relationship between Singapore and Vietnam will move a significant step forward.

The Straits Times says, “As the two ASEAN nations mark the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, Lee will formally launch a strategic partnership agreement with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung.”

The agreement is a wide-ranging blueprint for deepening bilateral ties, covering areas such as trade, training, defence and security, it adds.

Ties between the two ASEAN members have strengthened over the last four decades, in particular, their economic links.

According to the daily, Singapore is the second largest foreign investor in Vietnam with a cumulative registered capital of 36 billion SGD across 1,200 projects as of June.

Bilateral trade between the two countries totalled 15.8 billion SGD last year, nearly doubling the 6 billion SGD just 10 years ago.

The first VSIP was built in 1996 and since then, all the four projects have attracted investments from 22 countries totalling nearly 6.4 billion USD and created about 140,000 jobs.

Also on PM Lee’s official visit to Vietnam , Channel News Asia runs an article reviewing the two countries’ relations over the past 40 years.
Channel News Asia quotes officials from both countries as saying that ties between Singapore and Vietnam are excellent.

It writes: “One symbol of the success of ties between both countries is the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Parks, with four developed already”.

The visit will also see two key events, including the elevation of ties between the two countries to "strategic partnership", and the launch of the fifth VSIP, worth nearly 340 million USD, by the two prime ministers, it says.

The fifth park - VSIP Quang Ngai will comprise a 600 hectare industrial park and another 520 hectare site zoned for commercial and residential purposes near downtown Quang Ngai city.

With the new facility, the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park developments make up 6,000 hectares in the country, making it the largest integrated township and industrial park development in Vietnam.-VNA