Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) meets his Singaporean counterpart on the sidelines of 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits (Photo: VNA) In its article posted on February 8, The Business Times quoted Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan as saying that even as Singapore and Vietnam strengthen cooperation in traditional areas like trade and investment, there are many opportunities to work closer together in new growth areas.
These include the digital economy, renewable energy, carbon credits, green financing, cybersecurity and sustainable infrastructure, he said in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency.
The FM encouraged interested parties to explore collaboration in these areas and to establish mutually beneficial partnerships that advance the interests of both countries. He also stressed the need to give a priority to accelerating cooperation in the digital economy, which encompasses many new areas such as cybersecurity, cross-border data flows, smart cities, innovation, artificial intelligence and digital payments, the article wrote.
Balakrishnan also noted that Singapore and Vietnam have to do more together on sustainable development, adding that Singapore is keen to work with Vietnam in renewable energy, carbon credits and sustainable infrastructure with the ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
He described the two ASEAN member states as “long-standing friends and close partners”, with Chinh’s three-day visit to Singapore coinciding with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership.
Bilateral trade has grown steadily over the past decade, reaching 31.3 billion SGD (23.6 billion USD) last year, up from 26.9 billion SGD in 2021. Singapore was the second-largest cumulative investor in Vietnam after the Republic of Korea, with about 70 billion USD invested in 3,600 projects as of June 2022, added The Business Times.
Meanwhile, in its article posted on February 5, Asia Times said that PM Chinh’s Singapore visit will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations and promote bilateral cooperation.
Closer relations between these two member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will contribute to the development momentum for the ASEAN community in the face of great challenges ahead, as both are dynamic economies, and fervent supporters of multilateralism.
PM Chinh once said that the more difficulties and challenges ASEAN faces, the more it needs to promote the spirit of community thinking, community action, standing shoulder to shoulder, self-reliant and proactive, to meet any challenge, it wrote. Therefore, intra-regional solidarity is considered the most necessary key for ASEAN to stand firm in the face of the changing world situation.
In addition, both Vietnam and Singapore recognise that development is the key to many problems, thus the two countries will contribute the growth engine so that ASEAN can effectively address challenges.
The Vietnamese Government leader’s visit, as well as effective bilateral cooperation, will be a driving force for ASEAN solidarity, and resilience against pressure from big countries in a changing world, the article wrote./.
VNA
