Singaporean President Halimah Yacob (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob and her husband will pay a State visit to Vietnam from October 16-20 at the invitation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
This is the first State visit of a foreign head of state to Vietnam since the13th National Party Congress and the first foreign visit of the Singaporean Presidentsince the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It takes place in the context thatthe two countries are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomaticrelations and the 10th anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnershipin 2023.
The visit is expected to contribute to strengthening political trust andpromoting multi-faceted cooperation between the two nations, especially inpolitics-diplomacy, defence-security, economy, investment, labour andtechnology. It will also look to connect the two economies on a digital platform.
Over the years, the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership hasdeveloped fruitfully. Amid complicated developments of COVID-19, the two sidesstill maintained all-level delegation exchanges and contacts.
Besides high political trust, economic cooperation continues tobe considered a bright spot in the two countries' relations. As soon as the pandemicwas basically under control, Vietnam and Singapore lifted travel restrictionsand resumed commercial flights in March 2022. Two-way trade reached 6.9 billionUSD in the first nine months of this year, up 16% over the same period lastyear.
Singapore remains ASEAN's largest investor in Vietnam, ranking2nd out of 139 countries and territories investing in the country. As of August20, Singaporean investors had 2,974 valid projects with a total registeredcapital of 69.9 billion USD, accounting for 16.3% of total investment capital pouredinto Vietnam.
Meanwhile,by July 2022, Vietnam had 136 valid investment projects worth over 538 millionUSD in Singapore. The projects focus on such areas as science and technology, wholesaleand retail, car and motorbike repairing, information and communications, and manufacturingand processing industry.
A view of the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park No.1 in Binh Duong (Photo: VNA) Currently, the Vietnamese community in Singapore numbers about 13,000,including about 7,000 students; more than 1,000 postgraduates and intellectuals,over 2,500 brides, and 2,500 workers.
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung, the visit aimsto deepen the strategic partnership signed by the two countries more than 9years ago and at the same time concretize the results of bilateral cooperation inrecent years.
During the visit, the two countries will sign an agreement onpromoting cooperation in renewable energy, he said.
Withinthe framework of the visit, Singapore President Halimah Yacob will pay tributeto President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi, hold talks with PresidentNguyen Xuan Phuc, and pay courtesy calls to Party General Secretary Nguyen PhuTrong, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Prime Minister Pham MinhChinh.
She will receive the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, andvisit the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park 1 (VSIP1) and work with leaders inthe northern province of Bac Ninh./.
