Vietnamese Prime Minister M Pham Minh Chinh visited Singapore (Feb 8-10) after 5 years of any visit to the island nation by a Vietnamese Prime Minister. The Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hosted the lunch in his honour and the purpose of the visit was primarily to sign agreements related to green and digital economies. Within Vietnam there has been efforts which have been made to make much of the manufacturing sector and production centres complaint to the different aspects of green economy and develop environmentally sustainable projects which can helping to get new kind of technologies for future. During the visit Vietnamese PM signed the green economy deal with Singapore and given the fact that Singapore is one of the leaders in digital economy therefore cooperation between the two sides will also open possibilities in this context. The delegation led by Vietnamese Prime Minister also comprised of the foreign minister, minister chairman of the government office, planning and investment minister, industry, and trade minister along with senior officials and a large business delegation.
Singapore and Vietnam have signed free trade agreement with European Union, and therefore increased cooperation between the two countries is increasingly seen as fulfilling for the two countries. The bilateral trade between the two countries have crossover US $31.3 billion last year and Singapore was one of the largest contributors of FDI in Vietnam and invested US $94.5 billion. It is seen that with the development of high-tech parks in Ho Chi Minh city and collaboration between the two sides in development of industrial parks, it will lead to the investment of US $17 billion in Vietnam and will provide employment for nearly 300,000 individuals.
Under the technical cooperation and other engagements between the two sides Vietnamese officials regularly attend programmes related to development, technology, governance, and digitalization under Singapore Cooperation Programme. Singapore because of its increasing real estate costs is also looking for the development of Vietnam as a smart nation and promote digitalization in the country. Vietnam is looking for achieving the commitments made under the COP 26, and therefore these countries are looking for cooperation in other areas as well such as developing the ASEAN electricity grid, and exploring possibility of developing strong solar and wind energy farms along Vietnam’s more than 3000 kilometres long coastline. For Singapore which has been importing electricity from countries such as Malaysia, the development of the ASEAN power grid would help in managing the power supply and help the countries in ASEAN in meeting the energy deficit. The two other areas where the two countries are keen on developing partnership is related to renewable energy and trading in carbon credits. Singapore has been supportive of the international rules-based system and therefore it is critical that the two sides should develop better cooperation in areas conducive for the growth of the two emerging economies in Southeast Asia.
Even earlier when the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore visited Vietnam in September last year there was agreement between the two sides on exploring possibilities related to green and digital economy and promoting innovation among young entrepreneurs in both these countries. Singapore and Vietnam are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership in the year 2023. The two sides have already agreed on a wide read range of areas to cooperate which includes renewable energy, infrastructure development, building and nurturing startups and skill training as well as capacity building in digitalisation. As the 2 countries are also part of the CPTPP and RCEP, therefore it is pertinent for the 2 countries to protect their interest and look for areas of cooperation. For Singapore, Vietnam is a big market and has a young population which can be effective utilised for promoting trade and investment and look for possibilities in developing high tech industry in Vietnam and also streamline projects related to smart cities in Vietnam as well.
In the speech made by Singapore Prime Minister during the official lunch in the honour of Vietnamese Prime Minister Chinh he clearly remarked that the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the 2 countries have laid the foundation for greater cooperation and given the fact Vietnam is nearly growing by 8 per cent and is enlisted as one of the world’s fastest growing economies. He alluded to the fact that Vietnam Singapore industrial parks have done significantly remarkable progress especially the one which was launched in Binh Duong in 1996, and therefore more industrial parks have been planned which will make in total 12 industrial parks under the joint venture ship of the two countries. He also alluded to the fact that apart from digital economy, renewable energy there is a need for cooperation between the two sides on cyber security front. As already the two countries which are part of ASEAN have clearly remarked that ASEAN centrality and unity as well as better economic integration among the ASEAN member states and promoting rule-based order with all the dialogue partners will be one of the mean agendas for the two countries in near future.
After completing the Singapore visit, the Vietnamese Prime Minister went to Brunei (10-11) and discussed cooperation in the areas of economy, investment, regional security, and national defence. It was opined that since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Brunei in 1992, which was upgraded to a comprehensive partnership in the year 2019, the trade and investment between the two countries is yet to meet its true potential. Vietnam has been exporting aquatic and agricultural products meeting halal certification and it needs to explorer better trade conditions in exporting coffee, processed food, seafood, vegetables to Brunei. The bilateral trade between the two sides is yet to reach the one billion dollars but it has shown encouraging signs. The two countries have been engaged in oil and gas exploration and have signed bilateral cooperation agreements in areas such as agriculture and fisheries. Vietnam also requires investment from Brunei in terms of developing highways network and infrastructure within Vietnam. The two sides are also looking for greater cooperation in clean energy and better understanding in promoting agricultural exports.
