Singapore, Vietnam sign MOUs in areas like green-digital economic partnership and maritime cooperation
The signings were witnessed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh who is on an official visit to Singapore from Feb 8 to Feb 10.
SINGAPORE: Singapore and Vietnam signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on areas like the green-digital economic partnership and maritime cooperation on Thursday (Feb 9).
The signings were witnessed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh who is on an official visit to Singapore from Feb 8 to Feb 10. Mr Lee also hosted official lunch for Mr Chinh.
Both prime ministers also reaffirmed their countries shared commitment to strengthen and expand their bilateral agenda as both countries commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of their Strategic Partnership this year, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
"They welcomed the extensive and robust economic cooperation between Singapore and Vietnam, and agreed to step up cooperation in new and emerging areas such as renewable energy, carbon credits, and the digital economy," MFA said.Â
Mr Lee and Mr Chinh discussed ways to further enhance the cooperative mechanisms between Singapore and Vietnam, with Mr Lee expressing Singapore’s "continued support for Vietnam’s human resource development and capacity building".
The two prime ministers also exchanged views on regional and international developments.Â
"They emphasised the importance of upholding ASEAN Centrality and unity, deepening regional economic integration, and upholding an open and inclusive regional architecture," MFA said.
The following MOUs were signed during the visit:
MOU on the green-digital economic partnership between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Singapore;Â
MOU on economic and trade cooperation workplan between the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade;
MOU on maritime cooperation between the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and the Maritime Administration of Vietnam;Â
Renewed MOU on youth cooperation between the National Youth Council of Singapore and the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam.
On Thursday morning, Mr Chinh received a ceremonial welcome at the Istana and called on President Halimah Yacob, said MFA.
They reaffirmed the excellent relations between Singapore and Vietnam, "underpinned by multifaceted cooperation across many sectors including trade and investment, finance, security and defence, energy, sustainability, and close people-to-people ties," said MFA.
Mr Chinh and his wife Madam Le Thi Bich Tran also had a new orchid hybrid, the Papilionanda Pham Le Tran Chinh, named in their honour.
In conjunction with Mr Chinh’s visit, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam announced the launch of a pilot collaborative search and examination programme.Â
The S Rajaratnam School of International Studies signed an MOU with the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam to promote cooperation in research and academic exchanges, said MFA.Â
The Singapore Business Federation is also planning to hold its annual flagship event in Hanoi, the first time the event will be held outside of Singapore.
During his visit, Mr Chinh also met Singapore parliamentarians. He will also have meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Mr Teo Chee Hean and will also visit the Smart Nation CityScape exhibition.
