Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong on March 23 vowed to foster strategic trust, promote cooperation in integration and further deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) welcomes visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong__Photo: VNA |
They made the pledge in Hanoi during the talks held on the occasion of the Singaporean Prime Minister’s visit that ended on March 24.
The two leaders highlighted the need for creating a favorable business environment and promoting business linkages, and agreed on the potential for cooperation between the two countries in finance and transport.
Lee affirmed that Singapore would continue to help Vietnam improve its financial services by encouraging Singaporean firms to engage strongly in the field.
Singapore would also help Vietnam develop smart cities, facilitate startups, especially in science-technology, capital access and management capacity, and encourage linkages with major Vietnamese cities including HCM City and Da Nang, Lee said.
The two PMs proposed their countries to further strengthen security-defense cooperation via delegation exchanges, consultation mechanisms and bilateral and multilateral cooperation activities.
They discussed measures to further bilateral partnerships in other fields like the environment, tourism, science-technology, information-communications, and justice, while reaching high consensus on the need to step up negotiations for a labor cooperation deal.
Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of several cooperation documents, including the handover of an approval letter from the State Bank of Vietnam to Singapore’s United Overseas Bank to set up a branch in Vietnam, and MoUs between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Sembcorp Group, between Da Nang and the Sembcorp joint venture to develop a software park in Da Nang, and another on building a Vietnam-Singapore industrial park in Quang Tri province.- (VNS/VLLF)
