Hanoi (VNA)🎃 – Vietnamese Minister of Industry andTrade Nguyen Hong Dien held talks with Singaporean Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng in Hanoi on March20, during which they discussed ways to strengthen economic and trade ties betweenthe two nations.

Both ministers hailed the existing economicpartnership as a model for successful bilateral cooperation in Southeast Asia.They acknowledged a shared interest in expanding collaboration beyondtraditional sectors to embrace emerging trends like energy transition, digitaleconomy, digital transformation and green economy. Energy emerged as the focus of the discussion, withboth sides commending ongoing joint projects, particularly those involvingclean energy. They emphasised the mutual benefits that could be reaped fromramping up cooperation in this sector. As there remains numerous potential andexisting cooperation opportunities that need to be explored, Tan proposed joint research and implementation with Vietnam, potentially involvingother partners, with a special focus on wind and clean energy. Dien expected that Singapore would share itsexperience in building relevant policy mechanisms tosupport robust energy and clean energy cooperation withSingapore and other countries. He proposed that the working group of the twoministries share technical expertise to translate potential into concrete action. The Vietnamese minister further suggestedfostering human resource development in the energy sector through enhancedcollaboration between universities and research institutions. He also soughtSingapore's assistance to the Vietnamese ministry's units in building developmentstrategies for industries, energy, trade, digital transformation and greentransition. Singapore is now Vietnam's fourth largesttrading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and second largest foreign investor. The two-way trade value hit 9.1 billion USD in 2023 and the figure in the first two months of 2024 already reached 1.5 billion USD. Last year, Vietnam and Singapore signed the upgradedconnectivity framework agreement, under which energy cooperation has become oneof the five core pillars./.