Singapore (VNA) – Vietnam and Singapore need to workfor bigger strides in economic, trade and investment cooperation, making it onpar with bilateral political ties, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Addressing the Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum on April 26,which brought together about 700 delegates from both sides, the PM highlightedthe practical foundation for the bilateral collaboration, which was laid by lateSingaporean PM Lee Kuan Yew who supported the construction of the first Vietnam-SingaporeIndustrial Park (VSIP) in Vietnam’s southern Binh Duong province in 1992.

Five years after the establishment of the Vietnam-Singaporestrategic partnership, Singapore now has more than 2,000 projects with totalinvestment capital of over 43 billion USD in Vietnam, and two-way trade has reachednearly 8.5 billion USD, PM Phuc said, adding that up to 280,000 Singaporean touristsvisited Vietnam each year.

Vietnam also has invested in nearly 100 projects valued atmore than 200 million USD in Singapore.

The numbers reflect improvements in Vietnam’s investmentenvironment, he said, citing a report released by the World Bank at the end oflast year which ranked Vietnam’s business climate at the 68th positionamong 190 countries surveyed, up 30 places as compared with 2010.

Vietnam also claimed the 55th place among 137countries in the rankings of the World Economic Forum, the leader added.

PM Phuc noted that Vietnam is scaling up efforts to improvegrowth quality, towards higher productivity and innovations, utiliseopportunities generated by the fourth industrial revolution and harmoniouslycombine the domestic and foreign-invested sectors.

He told the participating Singaporean businesses that thenumber of internet users in Vietnam amounts to 52 million or 54 percent of itspopulation, ranking fifth in Asia-Pacific.

Besides, up to 55 percent of Vietnamese people are usingsmart phones, and the rate is expected to reach 80 percent by 2020, the highestrate in the region, the PM said, urging Singaporean firms to notice thispotential trend.

Highlighting Vietnam’s efforts to develop innovativestart-ups, PM Phuc emphasised that the Vietnamese Government commits tocreating the best possible conditions for start-up initiatives and intellectualproperty (IP) right protection within the framework of the Law on IntellectualProperty recently approved by the Vietnamese National Assembly, whilefulfilling its commitments to protecting IP rights within the framework of freetrade agreements (FTAs) to which Vietnam is a signatory.

In that spirit, he called on Singaporean partners tocontinue to share their experience and achievements in start-ups with Vietnam.

Speaking at the forum, President of the SingaporeanManufacturing Federation Douglas Foo said Vietnam has become a destination ofAsian manufacturers, thus opening up opportunities for Singaporean enterprises,especially those operating in civil electronics, garment-textile and foodproduction, to provide logistics services for the manufacturers.

Many Singaporean companies have invested in seaport,logistics, housing, urban and industrial park projects in Vietnam, Douglas Foosaid, stressing that thanks to the support of the Vietnamese Government, sevenVSIPs have been established in Vietnamese localities, becoming a symbol of the economiclinks between the two countries.

He called on PM Phuc and the Vietnamese Government tocontinue to support Singaporean projects in Vietnam.

Singaporean Minister for National Development and FinanceLawrence Wong suggested Vietnam and Singapore cooperate in energy, oil and gas,and smart city building, along with digital economy.-VNA