Vietnam, Singapore to accelerate negotiations on priority travel mechanism

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Photo: VGP

Vietnam and Singapore have consented to press ahead with negotiations on a priority travel mechanism, towards resuming safe commercial flights between the two countries.

The move aims to boost their economic, trade, investment and tourism cooperation, the VOV reported.

They will also increase the exchange of information and experience as well as cooperation to effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating favourable conditions for the two countries’ citizens to return to their homes.

The agreement was reached during phone talks on April 20 between newly-elected Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.

Lee congratulated Chinh on the latter’s recent election as Prime Minister of Vietnam, and expects to collaborate with the new Vietnamese Government leader to promote the strategic partnership in all areas between Singapore and Vietnam.

The two PM expressed their delight at the positive developments of the Vietnam-Singapore cooperation in recent times despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, they noted Singapore is the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, while the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) model is operating effectively, symbolizing the success in economic cooperation between the two countries.

Singapore was the largest investor in Vietnam last year, with nearly 9 billion USD, accounting for 31.5 percent of the country’s total foreign investment. Photo: VNA

Both sides consented to strengthen cooperation in the areas of their potential and strength, such as finance, information technology, agriculture and fisheries, education - training, and infrastructure.

They also underscored the need to expand bilateral cooperation to other areas to meet the requirements of the 4.0 industrial revolution, including clean energy, smart city development, innovation, digital economy; experience sharing in economic management and development, and high-quality human resource training.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the close and effective cooperation between the two countries at regional and international forums. He thanked Singapore for supporting Vietnam in assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020 role, and asked Singapore to continue its support for Vietnam to fulfill its role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 2021.

The two PMs vowed to contribute positively to building a strong, united, ands resilient ASEAN Community which is proactive in adapting to any crisis while promoting its central role and having a common voice in addressing regional and international peace and security issues.

PM Chinh invited PM Lee to visit Vietnam at a convenient time, and the Singaporean leader accepted the invitation with pleasure. PM Lee also expressed his desire to welcome PM Chinh to Singapore some time later./.

Vietnam, Singapore beef up investment links in industry

Last week, nearly 100 Singaporean businesses and multinational companies based in Singapore engaged in an online exchange with 20,000 Vietnamese firms.

The forum that aimed to promote investment in industries in Vietnam was held within the framework of the Vietnam International Trade Fair (Vietnam Expo 2021), according to the VNA.

General Director of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Do Ba Phu. Photo: vov.vn

General Director of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Do Ba Phu said he values Singaporean investor’s potential and predicted that investment flows from Singapore to Vietnam will rise sharply in the future.

Singapore was the largest investor in Vietnam last year, with nearly 9 billion USD, accounting for 31.5 percent of the country’s total foreign investment.

It possesses advantages in investing in key industries where Vietnam is calling for investment, Phu said.

Tran Thu Quynh, Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Singapore, briefed participants on production trends in Vietnam and the country’s priorities in attracting investment in industries in the 2021-2030 period, and told them of free trade agreements Vietnam has signed with foreign partners.

Douglas Foo, President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), who is also President of the Vietnam - Singapore Business Council, highlighted the significance of the forum, affirming that Singaporean enterprises are interested in the Vietnamese market.

In the context of COVID-19, with flight routes yet to restart between the two countries, opportunities for links like this forum will help Singaporean firms learn more about new investment opportunities in Vietnam, he said./.

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