General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong met with Khaw Boon Wan, Chairman of the People’s Action Party (PAP) and Minister for National Development of Singapore on Sept. 13 as part of his official visit to the country.

The CPV leader reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of attaching importance to strengthening and expanding the friendship relations with Singapore in terms of both bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The CPV advocates to develop and consolidate the relations with ruling parties and other parties on the basis of ensuring national interests, defending independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, including attaching importance to enhancing ties with the PAP, Trong said.

He also informed his host of the outcomes of talks and meetings with Singaporean leaders, during which the two sides agreed to lift the two countries’ relations to a strategic partnership level in 2013. This will play an important part in elevating the two nations’ ties to a new height, which will be practical and effective intensively and extensively.

Trong also expressed his pleasure at the recent developments of Singapore, saying that the country’s successes have closely associated with the leadership and progress of the PAP.

Chairman Khaw Boon Wan welcomed Trong’s visit to Singapore and congratulated Vietnam’s achievements during its renewal process under the leadership of the CPV.

Both host and guest are pleased to see the fine developments of the friendship relations and cooperation between the two countries and Parties in all fields.

They stressed that in the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership, the sound cooperation between the CPV and PAP will also be lifted to the strategic partnership level, playing as an important political base to promote the two countries’ relationship.

General Secretary Trong thanked Singapore for training CPV officials and spoke highly of the cooperation agreement on research and training programmes for high-ranking CPV officials.

He also took this occasion to invite Chairman Khaw Boon Wan to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time.

On the afternoon of the same day, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his entourage visited the Vietnamese Embassy and met with the Vietnamese community in Singapore.-VNA