Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (left) meets Singaporean President Halimah Yacob in Singapore’s Istana Open House on Thursday morning.— VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính’s official visit to Singapore is an important activity that marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Singapore, as well as the 10th anniversary of the Việt Nam-Singapore Strategic Partnership.

Singaporean President Halimah Yacob made the statement on Thursday morning in Singapore’s Istana Open House while welcoming Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.

She said that Chính's official visit would contribute to developing stronger and more practical relations between the two countries.

She also congratulated the Government of Việt Nam on its great achievements in socio-economic development and a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate.

Chính expressed his pleasure to visit Singapore for the first time as Prime Minister and conveyed cordial greetings from Vietnamese leaders to Yacob.

Chính congratulated Singapore on maintaining positive growth momentum and having many suitable policies to support people after the COVID-19 pandemic, especially low-income people.

The two leaders assessed that the two sides' quick implementation of high-level exchanges right after re-opening last year after the pandemic helped to strengthen trust, remove difficulties, and pave the way for cooperation, recovery and development that contributed to building economies of independence, self-reliance, and deepening international integration.

The leaders of Việt Nam and Singapore agreed to strengthen their relationship in various areas such as politics, economics, security, education, and technology. They aim to increase cooperation in these fields, enhance people-to-people exchanges, promote tourism, and improve maritime connectivity.

President Halimah Yacob praised the activities of Việt Nam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) and fondly recalled visiting the VSIP in Bắc Ninh Province in October 2022. She said that this is a model of success in the cooperation between the two countries.

She thanked the Government of Việt Nam for creating a favourable environment for Singaporean businesses to operate in Việt Nam.

Chính said Việt Nam encourages Singaporean businesses to expand and develop VSIP zones in green, smart and energy-saving ways while studying and opening more VSIPs in remote localities to support Việt Nam to develop evenly across the country.

On this occasion, Chính also asked that the two sides sign a labour cooperation agreement soon.

Moreover, the two sides also committed to promoting cooperation within the framework of multilateral forums such as ASEAN, APEC, and the United Nations; and agreed to continue working together to build a stable, united and strong ASEAN Community.

Both sides agreed to work together to ensure ASEAN's central role and common position in regional and international issues, including the East Sea issue, and closely coordinate to fully implement the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) while striving to successfully develop a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) following the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).— VNS