Vietnam, Singapore share fruitful all-round partnership: Ambassador

Singapore (VNA) – Vietnam and Singapore have enjoyed fruitful partnership in various areas, including politics, economy, security and people-to-people exchange, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung has said.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 77th National Day of Vietnam in Singapore on August 25 with the participation of more than 300 local guests, Ambassador Dung said that in the field of economy, Singapore has been the second largest among the 139 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

As of the end of June, Singapore had run about 3,000 projects in Vietnam with a total investment of about 70 billion USD.

In the first half of this year, Singapore invested 4.3 million USD in Vietnam, becoming the largest foreign investor in the country. Meanwhile, two-way trade rose nearly 22% year on year to 15.7 billion USD.

Currently, Vietnam is the 12th biggest trade partner of Singapore, while Singapore is the 15th of Vietnam, he noted.

At the same time, the diplomat affirmed that people-to-people exchange is one of a firm pillar in the Vietnam-Singapore ties. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese scholars, students and workers are living and studying in Singapore, who have acted as bridges linking the two nations, he said.

According to the ambassador, Vietnam has seen strong recovery after the pandemic, with GDP growth in the first half of this year reaching 6.42%.

Singaporean Minister of Communications and Information Josephine Teo highlighted that Vietnam is an important partner and friend of Singapore in the ASEAN. Both sides have cooperated closely in key areas of trade, investment, finance, security and defence, she said, underlining that the regular exchange among leaders of both sides and the mutual support throughout the pandemic period attested the strong ties between the two countries.

Teo expressed her delight that Singapore was the largest investor in Vietnam in 2020 and 2021 with a total investment of about 20 billion USD. Ten Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) have been operating, creating 270,000 jobs for Vietnamese labourers, she noted, adding that the two sides have expanded their partnership to many new other areas such as cybersecurity, smart city building, sustainable development and digital economy.

As members of the ASEAN, both sides have also worked closely together and shared viewpoints on many regional issues, she said./.