SINGAPORE — Politburo member and Permanent Member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Trần Cẩm Tú met Desmond Lee, chairman of Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) and Minister for Education, on Monday.

The meeting took place during Tú’s official visit to Singapore, where he will co-chair the first Việt Nam-Singapore Strategic Dialogue between the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) and the PAP.

Tú thanked the PAP Central Executive Committee and Lee for the respectful, thoughtful and warm reception given to the high-ranking CPV delegation. He also conveyed greetings and best wishes from CPV leaders to the PAP leadership.

Congratulating Singapore on its development achievements, Tú praised the PAP’s consistent and effective leadership in national development, which has helped transform Singapore into a developed country with a dynamic economy, effective governance and an increasingly prominent regional and global position.

He expressed his pleasure at the continued growth of Việt Nam-Singapore relations, describing them as a special friendship and partnership in Southeast Asia founded on strong political trust, dynamic economic cooperation and close people-to-people ties.

The elevation of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May 2025 opened a new chapter and created a favourable framework for deeper, more substantive and effective cooperation, he said.

Tú noted that relations between the CPV and the PAP formed an important pillar of bilateral ties, helping consolidate their political foundation and guide their future development.

He welcomed the two parties’ continued high-level contacts and exchanges of experience in Party building, national governance, policymaking and workforce development.

The Vietnamese official thanked Singapore for actively supporting training for mid-level and senior CPV officials over the past decade, and expressed his wish to deepen and broaden relations between the two parties.

Tú proposed making effective use of existing cooperation frameworks, particularly the inter-party Strategic Dialogue, while promoting regular exchanges between leaders of the two parties, especially promising young leaders.

He also called for greater exchanges of national development visions, continued cooperation in education, training and workforce development and stronger links between the two parties’ mass organisations.

Lee expressed his admiration for Việt Nam’s development achievements and its growing role and stature, confirming that the PAP attached importance to its friendship and cooperation with the CPV and wished to deepen these ties.

Agreeing with Tú’s proposals, Lee said the PAP would coordinate closely with the CPV to promote comprehensive cooperation in areas including science, technology and artificial intelligence.

The two parties would also maintain exchanges and share experience on issues of mutual concern, including improving governance capacity, personnel training, leadership experience and national governance, he said.

Both sides exchanged views on their parties’ goals, visions and approaches to leadership and governance.

They welcomed the early establishment of the Strategic Dialogue mechanism, saying it demonstrated the strong commitment and high priority that both parties attached to their relationship while reflecting the deepening political trust between Việt Nam and Singapore.

The two sides agreed to make effective use of the Strategic Dialogue and gradually develop it into a regular and substantive channel for exchanges between their leaders. They also agreed to coordinate in responding to rapidly changing regional and international circumstances.

Both sides expressed confidence that the first Strategic Dialogue would mark a new milestone in relations between the CPV and the PAP and strengthen the guiding role of inter-party ties, creating fresh momentum for the increasingly substantive, effective and comprehensive development of the Việt Nam-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Meeting Singapore Parliament Speaker

On the same day, Tú met Speaker of the Singapore Parliament Seah Kian Peng, where he conveyed greetings from National Assembly President Trần Thanh Mẫn and praised Singapore’s development achievements. Seah welcomed the visit, saying it would help carry out recent high-level agreements and advance the Việt Nam-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The two leaders welcomed the strong development of bilateral relations, including cooperation in investment, trade and connectivity, as well as growing ties between the CPV and Singapore’s PAP.

They agreed to strengthen coordination at ASEAN and other regional and international forums, particularly as Singapore assumes the ASEAN chairmanship and Việt Nam hosts APEC in 2027.

Both sides also called for closer cooperation between their legislatures through high-level visits and exchanges among parliamentary committees, young parliamentarians and female parliamentarians.

Tú conveyed Mẫn’s invitation for Seah to pay an official visit to Việt Nam. VNS