Singapore to ink free trade deal with Pacific Alliance by 2021 end
Singapore will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Pacific Alliance (PA), a trading bloc of four Latin American nations - Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, at the end of this year.
Container loading and unloading at Pasir Panjang port in Singapore. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Singapore (VNA) - Singapore will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Pacific Alliance (PA), a trading bloc of four LatinAmerican nations - Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, at the end of this year.
Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said theagreement will enable businesses on both sides to access market opportunitiesand foster greater cooperation in areas such as e-commerce, customs, tradefacilitation and maritime services.
In 2019, the total value of Singapore's goods trade with PAreached 6.1 billion SGD (4.5 billion USD), accounting for 33.2 percent ofSingapore's total merchandise trade turnover with countries in the Latin American region.Meanwhile, the turnover for service trade with the PA in 2018 reached 2.6billion USD, accounting for 28.2 percent of Singapore's total service tradeturnover with this region.
The PA was formally established in June 2012. Singapore became anObserver State to the PA in 2014 and a Candidate Associate State in 2017.
Singapore already has existing agreements withthree of the four PA countries - Chile, Mexico and Peru - that are also memberstates of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership./.
Singapore and Australia are in talks on a possible travel bubble that will allow residents to travel between the two countries without having to quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All schools in Singapore will start full home-based learning (HBL) from May 19 until May 28 when the school term ends, amid a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases in the community, Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing has announced.
Singaporean officials said the country will ease COVID-19 restrictions in 2 phases from June 14, following a steady drop in the number of cases in the community.
In his article, Oscar Sanchez Serra highlighted President Ho Chi Minh’s founding of the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper on June 21, 1925, which marked the birth of Vietnam's revolutionary press rooted in a bold and far-sighted vision.
Several ASEAN meetings are scheduled to take place in Port Dickson this September, including the Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) for ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the 15th ASEAN Maritime Forum, and the 13th Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum.
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered the urgent implementation of a national policy to crack down on all forms of call centre scams, online fraud, and illegal gambling, which are now considered threats to national security.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and EAEU Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev jointly declared the conclusion of FTA talks on the sidelines of the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025), according to the statement.
The article stressed that throughout his revolutionary career, the founder of modern Vietnam consistently regarded the revolutionary press as a vital part of the Vietnamese Party’s and nation’s revolutionary struggle.
Pichai said the trade talks with the US are important and need to move forward professionally, without regard for any political changes in Thailand, believing that Thailand has clear principles, guidelines and procedures in place.
The tax adjustment supports the Malaysian Government’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign food supply chains and to assist domestic farmers, a finance official has said.
The proposed venue is located in the Chatuchak area of Bangkok, featuring eight public sites, including Krungthep Aphiwat Central Terminal and several nearby parks.
Connectivity is expected to improve further with the completion of the fifth Laos–Thailand Friendship Bridge by the end of 2025, facilitating logistics and agricultural exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Two naval gunboats intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine hydrochloride off the coast of the main island of Luzon just before dawn, in a joint operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
In the today context of socio-economic development and growth, the professionalism of Vietnam’s revolutionary journalists continues to rise, guided by exemplary mastery of new information technologies and the modernisation of their founding principles to preserve the enduring values of revolutionary journalism.
Thai Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan Thailand's formal proposal will be substantial enough for the US to consider further detailed negotiations. He hoped for a tariff rate not exceeding 10% and suggested that the US might extend the negotiation period if an agreement is not reached by the July 8 deadline.
Organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Association of Thai Silk & Culture Promotions, the event honors Her Majesty the Queen on her 47th birthday anniversary and promotes Thai craftsmanship on an international stage.
Prensa Latina's recent article on Vietnam’s assurance of smooth and effective transition to a leaner structure highlighted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s latest directions on implementing 28 resolutions regarding the decentralisation and delegation of authority.
The lab focuses on four key thematic areas: energy transition and green innovation, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and sustainable cities, and nature-based solutions and biodiversity.
The key content of the document titled "Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Addressing the OOSCY Challenges" will be refined further in a seminar preceding the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur this October.
This follows Telegram’s serious failure to address the content that has been repeatedly reported to them, despite various efforts of negotiation and cooperation made by MCMC, it said.
Container loading and unloading at Pasir Panjang port in Singapore. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) 
