Singapore(VNA) – Singapore will help Vietnam develop a roadmap for transformingindustries and improving digital management and business capacity, as heard at ameeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh andSingaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on February 5.
The two foreignministers met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat that areunderway in Singapore from February 4-6.
They agreed to worktogether to improve Vietnam’s capacity in ensuring agricultural products’safety and hygiene so that more of them will be eligible to enter Singaporeanmarket, while promoting Singaporean investment in high technology, particularlyin constructing information technology parks.
They also consented to maintain all-level delegation visit exchanges as well asenhance trust and people-to-people exchange.
Regarding defence andsecurity, the two ministers discussed the joint operations of the twocountries’ armed forces such as joint anti-piracy patrols, search and rescue, andsubmarine repairs in line with partnership in encountering terrorism and cybersecurity threats.
Deputy PM Minhreiterated Vietnam’s support for Singapore’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2018 andhighly spoke of its focus on “resilience” and “innovation” as Chair of ASEANthis year. Both sides stressed the need to build a united and rules-based ASEANin which all member states are obliged to promote the community’s commonbenefits.
They also agreed thatASEAN should promote real negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea(COC).
Foreign ministers fromASEAN member states are gathering in Singapore for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’Retreat, where they plan to follow up on progress on the implementation of theoutcomes of the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila in November 2017 in addition tomatters related to the strengthening of the ASEAN Community and ASEANCentrality in the regional architecture as well as promote stronger relationsbetween ASEAN and its external partners and regional and global affairs.-VNA
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