Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng holds phone talks with his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong on April 16. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng on Thursday called on Singapore’s support in developing international financial centres in Việt Nam, as well as expanding and upgrading next-generation Việt Nam–Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) in tandem with high technology transfer.

He was speaking during phone talks with his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong. 

PM Wong expressed his desire to work closely with the Vietnamese PM to advance the Việt Nam–Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a more substantive and effective manner.

PM Hưng noted that Việt Nam is preparing new policies to attract greater foreign investment, including from Singapore. 

Agreeing with these proposals, PM Wong affirmed Singapore’s high regard for its relationship with Việt Nam and readiness to implement the agreed cooperation areas. He highlighted the importance of enhancing high-level exchanges and cooperation in the economy, defence-security and other fields, contributing to regional peace, stability and development.

The Singaporean leader announced plans to increase the number of VSIP projects in Việt Nam to 30 in 2026, marking the 30th anniversary of the initiative’s presence in the country. He also pledged continued support for Việt Nam in human resource development, particularly strategic-level officials, through new training agreements and the expansion of the Singapore Cooperation Programme to localities across Việt Nam.

PM Wong expressed his confidence in the continued strong growth of the bilateral ties and called for breakthroughs in new areas such as carbon credit exchange and food security cooperation.

Both leaders agreed to further strengthen political trust, promote high-level exchanges and maintain effective cooperation mechanisms, including the annual meeting between the two PMs. They also agreed to soon launch a strategic dialogue mechanism between the two ruling parties in 2026 and enhance cooperation in ensuring energy security.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitments to prioritising resources for the effective implementation of the 2025–30 Action Programme on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They also discussed the possibility of signing an intergovernmental agreement on cross-border trade in low-carbon electricity, creating a legal framework for offshore wind power exports from Việt Nam to Singapore.

Amid a complex international landscape, PM Hưng proposed strengthening ASEAN cooperation and close coordination in 2027, when Singapore will chair ASEAN and Việt Nam will host APEC.

The Vietnamese Government leader also called for deeper cooperation in defence-security, combating transnational crime, and support for the development and governance of Việt Nam’s National Data Centre, High-Performance Computing Centre and AI initiatives, as well as for advancing negotiations on an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea (internationally known as South China Sea).

On this occasion, PM Wong extended his invitation to PM Hưng to pay an official visit to Singapore. — VNA/VNS