Enhancing Vietnam's Strategic Partnerships with Singapore and Japan

	10 Years of Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association: Strengthening Bonds, Advancing Cooperation
	NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man Meets with Vietnamese Community in Singapore

On the evening of December 7, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his spouse, along with a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly, returned to Hanoi, successfully concluding official visits to the Republic of Singapore and Japan.

In an interview with the press, Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Vu Hai Ha stated that the visits were successful, yielding substantive outcomes, creating new momentum, and contributing to strengthening political trust, thereby fostering deeper and effective development of Vietnam-Singapore and Vietnam-Japan relations.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man meets with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Photo: VNA

How do you assess the outcomes of the visits to Singapore and Japan by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, his spouse, and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly?

As part of the 2024 external affairs agenda for key leaders, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man conducted official visits to Singapore and Japan from December 1 to 7. These visits were to two of Vietnam's most important partners in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.

In Singapore, the visit took place as the two countries recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the 10th anniversary of their Strategic Partnership, and are continuing to work closely to elevate their bilateral ties to a new level. Vietnam and Singapore regard each other as top strategic partners in the region, sharing common interests and strategic visions on various regional and international issues.

In Japan, Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s visit followed the recent upgrade of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World at the end of 2023. The visit marked an active effort to implement the substantial aspects of this upgraded relationship.

This was the first visit by a Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman to Japan in 12 years, coinciding with the first anniversary of the elevation of bilateral ties to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership level.

The official visits to Singapore and Japan by Chairman Tran Thanh Man, his spouse, and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly were successful, achieving numerous substantive outcomes. They created new momentum and contributed significantly to consolidating and enhancing political trust, driving the Vietnam-Singapore and Vietnam-Japan relationships toward deeper, more effective, and sustainable development.

Notably, Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s visit to Singapore at a time when both countries agreed to soon upgrade their relations provided additional impetus for ministries, agencies, and businesses of both nations to actively implement signed agreements and commitments.

What were the specific outcomes of the visit?

With more than 50 activities conducted by the National Assembly Chairman, ministries, sectors, and localities accompanying the delegation, the visits to Singapore and Japan achieved substantive and comprehensive results across all channels. The high-level meetings, talks, and exchanges were productive, cordial, and reflective of deep political trust.

Senior leaders of Singapore and Japan appreciated the significance of this being the first official visit to Japan by the National Assembly Chairman in his new capacity. They affirmed that Vietnam is one of the most important partners in the Asia-Pacific region and ASEAN.

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru expressed his delight at recent high-level engagements, including meetings between President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and the Japanese Prime Minister within the past month. These exchanges underscore the close ties and mutual trust between the top leaders of the two countries. The Japanese Prime Minister also highlighted Vietnam's significant development potential, predicting that it will soon emerge as one of the leading developed nations in Asia.

The Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore accepted invitations to visit Vietnam in 2025. Singapore's President and Prime Minister also extended a respectful invitation to and expressed a strong desire to host General Secretary To Lam in Singapore at an appropriate time, possibly in 2025. This will coincide with major celebrations, including Vietnam's 80th National Day, the 50th anniversary of the reunification of the country, and the 60th National Day of Singapore.

In the overall bilateral relations with Singapore and Japan, economic cooperation has been identified as a key pillar. How do you assess this aspect during the visits?

Both sides reaffirmed that fostering economic cooperation remains a central pillar in Vietnam-Singapore and Vietnam-Japan relations. In addition to enhancing traditional areas of collaboration, the two sides agreed to strengthen economic linkages, advance cooperation in high-quality infrastructure, and explore new areas of collaboration such as emissions reduction, semiconductors, energy, digital transformation, and green transition.

With Singapore, one of the highlights is the success of the 18 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) established across 13 provinces and cities in Vietnam. Singaporean leaders emphasized that the next-generation VSIPs, or "VSIP 2.0," will not only increase in number but also meet new standards, such as being green, smart, and sustainable.

Singapore also highly valued the establishment of the Digital and Green Partnership, which set the stage for advancing cooperation in emerging growth areas, such as green logistics, data centers, semiconductor manufacturing, energy security, food security, and green finance. They expressed a strong desire to bolster collaboration in connectivity, digital transformation, and innovation, emphasizing these as priority areas for Singapore and promising fields for Vietnam, given its pool of talented and young professionals.

With Japan, the two sides agreed to advance cooperation in security and defense, including strengthening collaboration in United Nations peacekeeping operations, supporting Vietnam in post-war recovery efforts, and promoting rescue and disaster relief activities.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and President of the Japanese House of Councillors Sekiguchi Masakazu sign a cooperation agreement. Photo: VNA

The Japanese side supports strengthening cooperation in economic sectors, ODA, investment, and bilateral trade, stating that Japan is actively promoting supply chain diversification, with many Japanese businesses expressing a strong desire to invest in Vietnam.

Notably, the Japanese business community highly values Vietnam's economic development, expressing optimism about investment and business opportunities in the country. They affirmed their commitment to contributing to the enhancement of bilateral relations across various fields, including trade, investment, infrastructure development, and human resource training, aiming to deepen bilateral economic cooperation.

Leading corporations and major enterprises from both Singapore and Japan expressed interest and desire to expand investments in Vietnam in areas such as infrastructure development, urban planning, energy, real estate, trade, retail, workforce training, and labor cooperation.

Regarding ODA cooperation, the Chairman of the National Assembly expressed gratitude to Japan for its active support over the past 30 years. Japanese ODA has significantly contributed to Vietnam's socio-economic development, infrastructure building, institutional improvement, human resource training, and investment climate enhancement. He also conveyed hopes for Japan to continue effectively implementing new-generation ODA with high concessional terms, simplified procedures, and flexibility to support Vietnam's large-scale strategic infrastructure projects, and human resource training initiatives.

Vietnamese Culture Showcased to International Friends in Japan On December 11, the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan hosted an event in Tokyo where international friends experienced some of Vietnam's traditional cultural values.

Vietnam Cohosts Ikebana Charity Fair in Japan An Ikebana charity fair was held in Tokyo on December 10. It aims to raise funds for disadvantaged people in Vietnam.