SINGAPORE : Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew hosted a dinner for Vietnam's former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet on Thursday evening in Ho Chi Minh City.

It was a meeting between two old friends.

They last met each other some 10 years ago, when Mr Kiet was then prime minister of Vietnam.

He served from 1991 to 1997.

Mr Kiet was one of the leaders who supported major national economic reforms in Vietnam in the 1980s, which brought about free market enterprise into the country.

Singapore is one of Vietnam's largest foreign investors.

Both countries have also collaborated in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park.

Bilateral trade has increased over the years, from S$3.2 billion in 1995 to S$10.4 billion in 2005. - CNA /ls