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| Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan meet with the press__Photo: VNA/VLLF |
Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son paid an official visit to Singapore from July 17-18 at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan.
The first official visit to Singapore by Son took place in the context that the two countries are celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of their Strategic partnership.
At their talks on July 18 morning, Vivian affirmed that Singapore considers Vietnam an important partner in the region and wishes to further strengthen the Strategic partnership with Vietnam for the benefit of the two nations’ people and for regional peace, stability and prosperity.
Son expressed his pleasure to visit Singapore for the first time in his capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs and appreciated Vivian’s attendance at a ceremony on July 17 evening to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Singapore diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the Strategic partnership.
The two ministers expressed their satisfaction at the development of the bilateral relations, reflected in the frequency of high-level visits and bilateral cooperation mechanisms. Economic cooperation, trade and investment are constantly being promoted.
Singapore leads ASEAN and ranks second in the world in terms of investment capital in Vietnam with 3,273 projects and total investment of over 73.45 billion USD, accounting for about 23% of total registered FDI capital.
Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks have continued to operate effectively and have been constantly expanded and upgraded, becoming a symbol of success in investment cooperation between the two countries.
Cooperation in other important fields such as national defence, security, education, culture and people-to-people exchanges has been treasured, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding between the two countries’ people.
The two ministers agreed to coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to effectively concretise the commitments made during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Singapore in February 2023.
The two sides vowed to focus on preparing well for the upcoming high-level visits, especially Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to Vietnam.
They pledged to strengthen the effective implementation of signed cooperation agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding on establishing the Vietnam-Singapore Digital Economy-Green Economy Partnership.
The two sides also agreed to work together to promote negotiations and sign important cooperation documents, including a document to upgrade the Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Framework Agreement.
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| FM Bui Thanh Son (left) and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan__Photo: VNA/VLLF |
Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two ministers agreed that in the context of complicated and unpredictable global and regional developments, the two countries need to continue to strengthen cooperation, maintain solidarity and promote the central role of ASEAN, especially in strategic issues such as peace and stability in the East Sea and the region.
The two sides agreed to build the East Sea into a sea of peace, cooperation and development, together with ASEAN countries to strictly and fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), striving to soon achieve an effective and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with the international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The same day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son had a meeting with Singaporean Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean during which they agreed to continuously contribute to promoting the bilateral cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Singapore, including fostering cooperation and promoting the signing of documents in security and defense.
They vowed to jointly maintain peace, stability and cooperation in the region, strengthen solidarity and unity, contribute to building a resilient and prosperous ASEAN and promote its central role, especially in strategic regional issues of the region.
During his visit to Singapore, Son and his delegation together with officials of the Vietnamese Embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies visited and offered flowers to President Ho Chi Minh's monument at the Asian Civilizations Museum.- (VNA/VLLF)
