Second Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore Tan See Leng (second from the left) speaks at the reception. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Tran LuuQuang hosted a reception in Hanoi on March 20 for Second Minister for Trade and Industryof Singapore Tan See Leng, who is on a visit to Vietnam.
During the meeting, the Deputy PM highlighted the sound development of the Vietnam – Singapore relations across a variety of fields inrecent times.
In 2023, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, and 10 years since Vietnam andSingapore established the strategic partnership, the two countries signed manyimportant cooperation agreements, opening up new opportunities to boostsustainable development cooperation between the two countries, especially innew areas such as energy transition, digital economy, digital transformation,and the green economy, he said.
The host said he supports cooperation innew areas in line with global trends, thus contributing to further deepening theVietnam-Singapore strategic partnership in the coming time.
The two sides focused their discussion on the prospects of cooperation in areas of semiconductors, artificial intelligence,innovation, digital and green economic development, and establishing free trade zones.
They also mentioned the possibility ofestablishing legal support channels for Singaporean investors in Vietnam, the potential signing of agreements on carbon credits, and cooperation inenergy transition towards achieving the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Regarding trade cooperation, two-waytrade between Vietnam and Singapore hit 9.1 billion USD in 2023, and isestimated to reach 2.4 billion USD in the first quarter of 2024, up 8.3%year-on-year, and higher than the average trade growth between Vietnam andASEAN (7.2%).
Singapore is the largest Southeast Asianinvestor in Vietnam, and the second biggest investor among 143 countries andterritories, with a total registered capital of 73.5billion across 3,274 valid projects.
Vietnam and Singapore alsoclosely cooperate in regional and international forums such as ASEAN, APEC,WTO, particularly within frameworks and mechanisms led by ASEAN. Both countries are members ofmajor free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and ProgressiveAgreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement.
Vietnam and Singapore, as ASEAN members, signed FTAs with the UK and the European Union, facilitating stronger cooperation between their business communities./.
