Hanoi, (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and hisSingaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong have agreed to promote high-level visitsand meetings and maintain bilateral cooperative mechanisms during their meetingahead of the ASEAN-US Special Summit in the US.

At the meeting on May 12 (US time), the two Government leaders also reachedconsensus on continued cooperation in post-pandemic economic recovery anddevelopment, including in bolstering digital economy, green economy andcircular economy, towards the 50th anniversary of the two countries’diplomatic relationship and 10 years of their strategic partnership in 2023.

The two countries will further expand the chain of Vietnam-Singapore IndustrialParks (VSIP) in Vietnam and work together to make the best use ofnew-generation free trade agreements to which they both are members, such asthe Comprehensive and Progressive Agreementfor Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

PM Chinh congratulated Singapore on the selection of the leader of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) fourth-generation (4G) team, noting his belief thatSingapore will continue with stable and prosperous development.  

He underlined that Singaporeis one of important partners of Vietnam and praised the contribution of variousgenerations of Singapore leaders, including PM Lee Hsien Loong, to the cooperativeties between the two countries.  

For his part, the Singaporean PM affirmed that Singapore attaches importance toand wants to develop its strategic partnership with Vietnam in both bilateraland multilateral frameworks.

He congratulated Vietnam on its recent socio-economic achievements, and wishedVietnam success in hosting the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games31).

The two Government leaders expressed satisfaction at therapid and strong progress in the two countries’ partnership, with economiccollaboration continuing to be a bright example of cooperation and connectivityin the region.

Singapore has recently become the second largest foreign investor in Vietnamwith total registered capital exceeding 67.5 billion USD. The VSIPs haveoperated effectively over the past 20 years, contributing to their strategicpartnership. Cooperation in defence-security, culture, education andpeople-to-people exchange maintain robust development.        

PM Chinh suggested bolstering collaboration in education-training and askedSingapore to provide more scholarships for Vietnamese managerial officials. Healso wished to strengthen joint work in addressing security challenges, bothconventional and non-conventional, epidemics and climate change.

The two PMs took the occasion to exchange views on regionaland global issues of mutual concern, including existing cooperative mechanismsand new initiatives on economic cooperation in the region.

PM Lee Hsien Loong accepted an invitation to visit Vietnamfrom his Vietnamese counterpart, and invited PM Chinh to visit Singapore./.