Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung met with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in Kuala Lumpur, Malayia on October 26 afternoon when he accompanied Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to attend the 47th ASEAN Summit and related summits.
Trung expressed his pleasure at meeting Balakrishnan for the first time in his new position and affirmed Vietnam’s desire to further advance the Vietnam–Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in general and the sound cooperation between the two foreign ministries in particular.
Both ministers welcomed the significant progress in bilateral relations, with the recent upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, describing it as an important milestone that opens new opportunities to deepen and elevate cooperation between the two nations. They highly valued the completion of the Action Programme to Implement the Vietnam–Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which is expected to be signed on this occasion in the presence of the two Prime Ministers. The programme will outline orientations for developing more comprehensive bilateral relations for the next five years.
Expressing satisfaction with the robust growth of economic cooperation, the ministers agreed to continue promoting high-level and all-level delegation exchanges, effectively implement existing bilateral mechanisms, and explore new ones, including through the Party channel. They also emphasised the importance of close coordination between relevant ministries and sectors to actively follow up on the outcomes of recent high-level visits, especially the Green–Digital Economic Partnership and the Economic Connectivity Agreement.
Both sides also agreed to upgrade the network of Vietnam–Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) towards greener and smarter models, while continuing close collaboration in other key areas such as high-quality human resources training and smart city development. They also affirmed mutual support at multilateral forums.
The two ministers consented to promote areas of mutually beneficial cooperation and to continue supporting and coordinating their countries’ positions on issues of shared concern at regional and international forums. The two nations will work closely to uphold ASEAN’s common stance on the East Sea issue, ensure the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and strive for the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
On this occasion, Trung thanked Singapore for its emergency assistance in various forms, including essential supplies, to help residents in northern Vietnamese provinces overcome the aftermath of recent storms and floods./.
