Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong attended the Conference to Promote the Implementation of Việt Nam-Singapore Investment Cooperation Projects on Tuesday in Hà Nội.

Singapore currently ranks first among ASEAN countries and second among all 143 countries with investment in Việt Nam, with a total registered capital of US$73.5 billion in nearly 3,300 projects across the country.

The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) industrial complexes located across the country are among some of the most modern industrial parks in Việt Nam. Since the establishment of the first VSIP in Việt Nam a decade ago, there have been 16 additional industrial parks built in the country. 

Meanwhile, Việt Nam's investment in Singapore has been steadily on the rise in recent decades, with more than 150 active projects, totalling over $690 million, putting Việt Nam at the 10th place among all countries with investment in the Southeast Asian island nation.

Bilateral turnover between the two countries reached $9.15 billion last year and $4.5 billion in the first month of 2023 alone. Among these, new areas, including sustainable and green development, have been identified as key cooperative objectives by the two governments, resulting in a Việt Nam-Singapore Digital-Economic Green Partnership.

The conference was part of a series of activities by the two governments to further promote bilateral investment and business cooperation, as well as deepen ties between the peoples of the two countries. 

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that 2023 marked an important milestone, commemorating 50 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the Strategic Partnership between Việt Nam and Singapore. Singapore was honoured to collaborate and participate in Việt Nam's development.

The newly-established Digital-Economic Green Partnership had established a strong foundation for both sides to enhance cooperation in new areas, aiming for green and sustainable development such as renewable energy, based on science, technology, and innovation.

He expressed his wishes that in the future, many additional cooperative and investment projects would take place to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

PM Lee said the success of investment and business ventures reflected the strong support from the central to local authorities of each nation. He said that it was highly important that governments at all levels continue to create and provide favourable conditions for businesses to invest and operate successfully, and to improve the effectiveness of the strategic partnership between Việt Nam and Singapore. 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries had been a positive sign against a a global context marked by complex and unpredictable developments and economic difficulties.

PM Chính said Việt Nam's future development would continue to rest on three key pillars: building a socialist rule-of-law state, a socialist-oriented market economy, and a democratic and socially just society with citizens' rights and benefits at the centre. In addition, the country would continue its pursuit of an independent, self-reliant foreign policy that is diversified and multilateral, considering others as good friends, reliable partners, and responsible members of the international community, and upholding the "4 No's" defence policy.

Việt Nam's key focus in the coming decades would include attaining strategic breakthroughs in terms of institutions, human resources, and infrastructure; not trading off progress, social equity, and the environment for mere economic growth; ensuring political and social stability; building an independent and self-reliant economy that actively and comprehensively integrates into the international community in a substantial and effective manner.

He said in recent years, Việt Nam's macroeconomic stability had been maintained, providing a solid foundation for growth, inflation control and economic balance. The country's import-export turnover for the year 2022 reached over $730 billion. To date, Việt Nam had signed a total of 16 FTAs with over 60 of the world's major markets. The country was also among the world's top destinations for foreign investors, with more than 37,000 active FDI projects, totaling $446 billion in investment.

Regarding future direction, PM Chính expressed his hopes that Singapore would continue assisting Việt Nam in accessing resources for green and sustainable investment, as well as green finance. This should involve upgrading and expanding the scope of cooperation, enhancing the role and effectiveness of the framework connecting the two economies, and promoting comprehensive collaboration in areas such as innovation, entrepreneurship support, human resource development, and the development of a high-quality workforce.

He proposed the implementation of a roadmap for green energy transition with a focus on renewable energy and that measures be taken to expand and effectively leverage sustainable models of the VSIPs, moving towards the formation of industrial-innovation-urban-service-high-tech ecosystems in Việt Nam.

He reaffirmed the Vietnamese Government's commitment to creating favourable conditions for businesses, including Singaporean businesses, to invest in and conduct sustainable businesses in the country in the spirit of the "harmonious benefits, shared risks" mindset.

During the conference, the two Prime Ministers attended the announcement of the Việt Nam-Singaporean Innovation Centre in the southern province of Bình Dương, the approval of resource survey activities in the maritime domain, the development of electricity export infrastructure from Việt Nam to Singapore, the cooperation development agreement for 12 new VSIP projects and the commencement of projects such as VSIP Can Tho, VSIP Bac Ninh 2, and VSIP Nghe An 2. 

The conference was jointly organised by the Government Office, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Singapore Embassy in Việt Nam. More than 500 delegates, including leaders of ministries, sectors, provinces, cities, and businesses from the two countries participated in the event.VNS