Vietnam, Singapore convene 11th political consultation

 

Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Dinh Quy and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Chee Wee Kiong co-chaired the 11th political consultation between the two countries in Hanoi on March 28.

They shared the view that since the establishment of bilateral strategic partnership in 2013, Vietnam and Singapore have witnessed the effective development of bilateral ties in a range of fields from politics, defence-security, to economy, trade, investment, education and people-to-people exchange.

Singapore is the third largest investor in Vietnam with nearly 2,000 projects worth 42 billion USD, nearly two-fold increase from that recorded since the upgrade of bilateral ties to strategic partnership level, mostly contributed by eight Vietnam – Singapore Industrial Parks based in Vietnam.

New progresses have been seen in defence-security ties, especially in the exchange of naval vessels, counter-terrorism and cyber security. Increasing cultural collaboration and people-to-people exchange have contributed to raising mutual understanding between the two peoples.

The two officials vowed to continue maintaining trustworthy political ties between the two countries, jointly celebrate the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of strategic partnership, with a focus on cultural activities and people-to-people exchange, increasing the exchange of high-level delegations via the Party, Government, State, National Assembly channels.

They underscored the need to make new highlights in the fields of defence-security, trade-investment, education-training, labour and science-technology, and boost coordination between naval and air forces, army medical corps, in search and rescue and defence technology.

Singapore committed to increasing investment in Vietnam in energy, urban development and building a network of smart cities.

Both sides pledged to work closely together at regional and global forums, especially at ASEAN. The Vietnamese side spoke highly of Singapore’s efforts and initiatives in its position as ASEAN Chair 2018 and supported ASEAN’s theme of resilience and innovation.

They agreed that ASEAN needs to uphold the spirit of resilience in every aspect on the back of its common principles and commitments, maintain solidarity and central role in regional strategic issues.

Singapore promised to continue promoting cooperation in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region in its role as ASEAN Chair and help Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam narrow development gap during integration.

The same day, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung hosted a reception for Chee Wee Kiong and discussed issues of shared concern.

The next political consultation is scheduled to be held in Singapore in 2019.-VNA