Vietnam and Singapore set up the Strategic Partnership in 2013 (Infographic: VNA) Hanoi, July 31 (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang and PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc have sent their Singaporean counterparts, President HalimahYacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, letters of greetings on the occasionof the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations (August 1).
In their letters, the Vietnamese leaders expressed theirdelights at the unceasing consolidation and development of the comprehensivecooperation and relations between the two countries over the past 45 years.
Vietnam and Singapore established their status of strategicpartnership in 2013, which ushered in a new period of closer ties and deepenedmutual trust, they noted.
The leaders wrote about the significant achievementsrecorded in bilateral cooperation in various fields, in particular economics, trade,and investment; security and defence; education and training; and science and technology.
Their letters expressed their hopes for strengthening theVietnam-Singapore strategic partnership in the future for the sake of theirpeoples, and for peace and prosperity of the region and the world at large.
On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign MinisterPham Binh Minh also sent a letter of greetings to Foreign Minister of SingaporeVivian Balakrishnan. Minh is currently paying an official visit to Singaporeand will attend the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings there.
Vietnam and Singapore have worked closely together in theASEAN Community, and supported each other at regional and international forumssuch as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, the Asia-EuropeMeeting (ASEM), and the United Nations (UN).
Singapore has been one of Vietnam’s biggest trade partnerssince 1996, ranking second amongst ASEAN and eighth amongst of global tradepartners. Bilateral trade last year rose by 8.9 percent from 2016 to reach 8.3billion USD.
Singapore is now the biggest investor in Vietnam amongstASEAN, and third globally. As of the end of last May, Singapore had 2,048investment projects worth 43.53 billion USD in Vietnam. Their businesses havebeen present in 48 of the 63 provinces and cities of Vietnam.
Close to 9,000 Vietnamese students are currently learning inSingapore, serving as a bridge to promote the two countries’ friendship. –VNA
VNA
