General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm (left) meets with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photos

SINGAPORE  — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and President Tô Lâm held talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Singapore on Friday, during which the two leaders agreed to further enhance the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanisms and elevate strategic cooperation in line with the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

PM Wong warmly welcomed the top Vietnamese leader on a state visit to Singapore and attendance at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue, while congratulating the leader on being elected President by the 16th National Assembly of Việt Nam.

The Singaporean leader expressed admiration for Việt Nam’s recent socio-economic achievements, saying the upgrading of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2025 opens significant space for deeper cooperation across fields.

Party General Secretary and President Lâm expressed pleasure at returning to Singapore as head of the Vietnamese Party and State, and congratulated Singapore on maintaining strong development momentum as one of the world’s most prosperous and safest countries.

He said the visit aims to further strengthen friendship, mutual understanding and expand cooperation opportunities, injecting fresh momentum into the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the benefit of both peoples and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

Reaffirming Việt Nam’s strong regard for relations with Singapore, Party General Secretary and President Lâm expressed his desire to further promote friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Singapore.

The top leader emphasised that Việt Nam considers the building of a socialist rule-of-law state a strategic task, and it is determined to successfully develop a new growth model based on the knowledge economy, digital economy, and green economy, in which science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation are key drivers.

These are the new areas that Việt Nam prioritises for cooperation with Singapore, he affirmed, noting that Việt Nam will continue focusing on administrative reforms towards a streamlined, efficient, and effective governance system.

The two leaders reviewed outstanding achievements in bilateral cooperation over recent years, particularly in trade and investment.

Two-way trade reached nearly US$12 billion in 2025. Singapore is currently the second-largest foreign investor in Việt Nam, with cumulative registered investment capital of nearly $100 billion, among which the Vietnam–Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) are regarded as a flagship model of successful cooperation. The two sides are expected to lift the total of VSIPs to 30 in 2026, marking 30 years of the initiative’s presence in Việt Nam. 

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm (front, second from left) speaks at the talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday.

The two sides also noted positive progress in cooperation in defence and security, education-training, science and technology, tourism, labour, and people-to-people exchanges.

Exchanging views on future cooperation directions, the two leaders agreed to continue strengthening political trust by maintaining high-level exchanges and regular meetings; enhancing the effectiveness of existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms; and elevating strategic cooperation through the establishment of a strategic dialogue mechanism between the CPV and the People’s Action Party of Singapore.

They also emphasised the need to make science and technology cooperation more substantive, and welcomed the organisation of the Vietnam–Singapore Technology Connectivity Forum, as well as the initiative on Việt Nam–Singapore technology connectivity, aimed at forming a strategic science and technology ecosystem between the two countries.

The two sides consented to further promote the Green-Digital Economic Partnership, particularly in implementing projects on clean energy connectivity and carbon credit exchange, developing an international financial centre, and building new-generation VSIPs linked with high technology transfer.

They will also step up security and defence cooperation, including in combating cybercrime and drug trafficking; and culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, connectivity in aviation, logistics, and seaports. The leaders further committed to strengthening cooperation to ensure supply chain resilience, including in food security and energy security.

Party General Secretary and President Lâm thanked Singapore for continued support in training Vietnamese officials, particularly strategic-level personnel, and in nurturing talent to serve national development in the new era; and in operating Việt Nam’s National Data Centre and AI and high-performance computing centres.

Singaporean PM reaffirmed his country’s support for Việt Nam in human resource development.

The leaders highly valued the two countries’ regular coordination and mutual support in multilateral mechanisms, especially within ASEAN and the UN. They agreed to further expand and deepen cooperation on international issues, helping ASEAN effectively respond to emerging challenges and achieve new progress in promoting its central role.

The Vietnamese top leader affirmed that Việt Nam will actively support and coordinate with Singapore in making responsible contributions to ASEAN’s common work, helping Singapore fulfill its role as the rotating Chair of ASEAN in 2027.

Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea; the peaceful settlement of disputes, without the threat or use of force; and the resolution of differences through peaceful measures in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Following the talks, they witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents covering party-to-party cooperation channels, judicial cooperation, supply chain recovery, and investment certificates for VSIP projects in Huế, Nghệ An, Ninh Bình, and Hải Phòng, among others.

Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm respectfully invited PM Wong to pay a visit to Việt Nam in the time to come, which the Singaporean leader warmly accepted. — VNA/VNS