Vietnam - Singapore Prime Ministers hold first talks
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong held talks for the first time within the framework of the annual meeting between the two Prime Ministers, on the occasion of attending the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Vientiane, Laos.
The two Prime Ministers agreed to coordinate effectively in implementing the Framework Agreement on Connecting the Two Economies and the Vietnam-Singapore Green Economy - Digital Economy Partnership, especially in connecting telecommunications infrastructure; developing a sustainable and smart VSIP 2.0 system; and developing clean energy.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that he will create favorable conditions for Singaporean enterprises to expand investment in Vietnam, along with improving the quality of FDI capital flows, prioritizing the fields of high technology, digital economy, circular economy, innovation, semiconductors, and AI.
The Prime Minister proposed that Singapore support Vietnam in building a model of a national data science innovation centre.
Pleased with the news that Vietnam will become Singapore's largest rice supplier in the first 6 months of 2024, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed his desire to further strengthen bilateral agricultural cooperation and ensure food security; and said he is ready to import fruits, food, and seafood from Vietnam.
Meeting with the Sultan of Brunei
At the meeting with Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the continued positive development of the Vietnam - Brunei Darussalam Comprehensive Partnership.
The Prime Minister asked Brunei to pay attention to and create favorable conditions for granting licenses to Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen to conduct fishing activities in Brunei; and to soon extend the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation on the use of hotlines for information exchange to address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The Sultan of Brunei agreed to further deepen friendly relations with Vietnam, and enhance cooperation in trade, agriculture, fisheries, and oil and gas.
Meeting with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra
The two Prime Ministers were pleased with the good development of the friendly neighborly relations and the enhanced strategic partnership between Vietnam and Thailand; and agreed to strive to soon bring bilateral trade turnover to the target of 25 billion USD in a balanced direction.
The two leaders appreciated the importance of implementing the “Three Connectivity” Strategy, especially connecting supply chains and strategic areas such as transportation, digital economy, green economy, energy transition, etc.
The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in potential areas such as economy, tourism, transportation, multimedia connectivity, and local cooperation; and coordinate with relevant countries to pilot the tourism cooperation initiative "Six countries, one destination".
The Prime Minister reaffirmed the importance of enhancing coordination and information exchange in the fight against terrorist and reactionary organizations; ensuring that no individual or organization is allowed to use the territory of one country to fight against another.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra emphasized that Vietnam is one of Thailand's important partners in Southeast Asia and hopes to soon develop relations with Vietnam to a new height.
At all meetings, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation, maintain solidarity and unity within ASEAN; promote ASEAN's central role in international and regional issues, ensure peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea on the basis of international law, UNCLOS 1982; fully and effectively comply with the DOC Declaration and soon achieve a substantive and effective COC.
