Singapore (VNA) – Singaporeanleaders have said they want to bolster the multifaceted cooperation withVietnam and continues to closely work with the country at regional andinternational forums, in a bid to enhance cooperation in ASEAN and tacklecurrent regional challenges such as disease and climate change.

They expressed the wish during meetingswith a delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by Secretary ofthe CPV Central Committee and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commissionfor Internal Affairs Phan Dinh Trac, who are on a Singapore visit from February17-22.

The visit was made at the invitation of Singapore’sForeign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, as part of a programme held in memory of lateSingaporean President S R Nathan.

While in Singapore, the delegation heldmeetings and working sessions with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong; DeputyPM, Finance Minister and leader of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) HengSwee Keat, and other high-ranking officials of the country.

Singaporean leaders welcomed the visit ofthe Vietnamese delegation which took place when the Singapore-Vietnam strategicpartnership is thriving in all fields. Speaking highly of Vietnam’sachievements over the years, they voiced their belief that under the leadershipof the CPV, Vietnam has sufficient conditions for stronger development in thecoming time, thereby raising the country’s position and role in regional andinternational arenas.

For his part, Trac underlined that the CPVand the Vietnamese Government always view Singapore as a leading economic and long-termstrategic partner in the country’s foreign policy.

Vietnam hopes to develop the bilateralstrategic partnership in a comprehensive and effective manner across all spheres,from politics, security-national defence, economy, trade to legal building andcrime prevention, among others, he added.

The two sides need to efficiently implementcurrent agreements and cooperation mechanisms, thus boosting their cooperationthrough government-to-government, party-to-party and people-to-people channels,Trac requested.

He voiced his hope that Singapore will keepup its important role and voice to strengthen solidarity and cooperation inASEAN, and bring into play the bloc’s central role to maintain peace, security,order and stability in the region and the world.

At the meetings, the two sides alsoexchanged views on situations in the region and the world, along with the importanceof maintaining peace, stability and security in the East Sea and settlingdisputes by peaceful measures, in line with international law while ensuring freedom,security and safety of navigation and aviation.

Both sides laid stress on the importance ofexperience sharing between the CPV and the PAP in party building andenhancement of capacity and combat readiness for members. They agreed thatparty-to-party exchanges will continue to serve as a stable political foundationto develop the Vietnam-Singapore relations in the coming time.

Officials of Vietnam and Singapore discussedorientations and measures of cooperation in jurisdiction reform and completionof the legal system, as well as in jurisdiction support, anti-corruption, crimeprevention and security-order maintenance. They consented to bolsterinformation exchanges and training for personnel in the future.

The Vietnamese party delegation alsoattended a working session with Sembcorp, one of the Singapore’s majorcorporations investing in Vietnam./.