Hanoi (VNA)– Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is to make an official visit to Singaporefrom April 25-27 and attend the 32nd ASEAN Summit from April 27-28,which is expected to further foster the already sound partnership between thetwo countries.

This is the firstofficial visit of PM Phuc to Singapore, which coincides with the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and five-year bilateral strategicpartnership.

Singapore and Vietnamset up diplomatic relations on August 1, 1973. Since 1991, especially sincewhen Vietnam became a member of the ASEAN in 1995, bilateral ties between thetwo countries have grown rapidly.

In 2004, the two sidessigned a Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Cooperation Framework in the 21st Century, which enabled them to boost all-round partnership. In September 2013,the two sides lifted ties to a strategic partnership during the Vietnam visitof Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The two countries havemaintained regular political consultations at deputy foreign ministerial level.As of December 2016, they held 10 political consultations and 5 exchangesbetween the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

The Defence Ministriesof Vietnam and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation inSeptember 2009, while exchanging many visits at ministerial level.

Vietnam and Singaporehave coordinated closely at multilateral and international forums such asASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Asia-EuropeMeeting, and the United Nations. Regarding strategic security issues in theregion, including the East Sea matters, the two countries have actively cooperated,shared viewpoints and protect the common stance of the ASEAN.

Since 1996, Singaporehas been one of the biggest economic partners of Vietnam. Two-way tradeincreased through years, reaching 8.3 billion USD in 2017. Major productstraded between the two countries include petrol, computers, electronics andspare parts, and telephones. Vietnam also exports to Singapore aquacultureproducts, coffee, cashew and vegetable.

Singapore’s investmentin Vietnam has risen continuously since 1998. As of the end of 2017, Singaporewas the third largest out of 126 foreign investors in Vietnam with more than1,900 projects worth nearly 42 billion USD.

Singaporean firmsmostly invested in Vietnam’s real estate, processing and manufacturingindustries, and construction.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has65 projects in Singapore, mostly in oil and gas, mining, retail, informationtechnology and service.

A ConnectivityFramework Agreement between the two countries was signed in 2005, focusing onsix areas of finance, ICT, education-training, transportation, investment,trade and service. Under the deal, Vietnamese and Singaporean Ministers ofIndustry and Trade meet every eight months to review the implementation of theagreement and make plans for future cooperation. So far, 12 meetings were held.

The Ministries ofForeign Affairs of the two countries have signed an agreement on cooperation intraining high-ranking officials of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Singapore for2013-2015, 2015-2017 and 2017-2019.

The SingaporeanGovernment grants scholarships for Vietnamese students every year. Currently,about 9,000 Vietnamese students are studying in Singapore.  

In the area ofculture, the two sides have affiliated within the framework of the ASEANCommittee on Culture and Information. Singapore is now one of the important tourismmarkets of Vietnam, and a popular destination for Vietnamese tourists.

Vietnam and Singapore haveworked together in a project to export salinity sand to Singapore and evaluateenvironmental effects due to sand exploitation in rivers.

The two sides havealso enjoyed fruitful cooperation in aviation, maritime and roadtransportation, along with law, justice, and finance-banking.

The Vietnamesecommunity in Singapore has expanded to about 12,000 people.-VNA