The visit took place in the context of the good development of Vietnam - Singapore relations. On the occasion of the official visit to Singapore by General Secretary To Lam and his wife (11-13.3.2025), General Secretary To Lam and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the upgrading of the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During the visit, the General Secretary and Prime Minister of Singapore witnessed the signing of many cooperation documents in the fields of wind power trade, digital transformation, prevention, combating transnational crimes, financial innovation... creating an important foundation to promote the Vietnam - Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the coming time.
Singapore is Vietnam's 4th largest trading partner in ASEAN (after Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia); Vietnam's 14th trading partner in the world (according to 2023 data). Vietnam is Singapore's 4th trading partner in ASEAN and the 11th in the world (according to Singapore's 2023 statistics). In 2024, the total two-way trade turnover will reach 10.3 billion USD, up 14.7% compared to 2023, which is a good growth rate compared to other partners in the region.
In terms of investment, Singapore is currently the largest ASEAN investor in Vietnam, ranking 2nd/147 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, 3,915 valid projects with a total registered capital of more than 83 billion USD. Some typical projects are the Bac Lieu Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Power Plant project (4 billion USD); Nam Hoi An Development Company Limited project (4 billion USD); Long An LNG Power Plant I and II project (3.1 billion USD).
The Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) are a symbol of successful economic cooperation between the two countries. Since the first VSIP area in Binh Duong was launched in January 1996, there have been 18 VSIPs present in 13 provinces and cities of Vietnam. VSIPs have come into operation with a high occupancy rate (about 83.2%), attracting 18.7 billion USD in total investment capital for about 866 projects, creating jobs for more than 300,000 workers.
On the other hand, as of November 30, 2024, Vietnamese investors have invested in Singapore with 180 projects, with a total registered capital of more than 668.4 million USD. Vietnam's investment capital in Singapore is mainly focused on science and technology (18 projects, 264.2 million USD), information and communications (66 projects, 193.2 million USD) and other fields.
Singapore is also the first country in Vietnam to establish the Digital Economy - Green Economy Partnership (official visit to Singapore by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in February 2023), an important first step, helping to lead the transformation of the two economies to new potential areas such as digital economy, green and circular economy, innovation, clean energy, climate change response, etc.
Cooperation in human resource education and training is a bright spot in bilateral relations. The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on educational cooperation (August 2023); linking training institutions and providing each other with many scholarships for university and postgraduate training; exchanging and exchanging with many delegations of cadres, lecturers, students and pupils of the two countries.
Regarding national defense and security, the two sides maintain high-level delegation exchanges and existing annual dialogue and cooperation mechanisms; in 2022, an Agreement was signed between the two governments on bilateral defense cooperation. Regarding transportation, Singapore is one of the aviation markets of special importance to Vietnam. Currently, Vietnam has 4 airlines and Singapore has 2 airlines operating 4 direct flights between Vietnam and Singapore.
The visit of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his wife is expected to continue to promote the good relationship between Vietnam and Singapore, in the context that the two countries have just announced the upgrading of their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This year Singapore celebrates the 60th anniversary of independence and Vietnam celebrates the 80th anniversary of National Day.
