Vietnam steps up ties with Singapore, India

Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA)

In Singapore, the Vietnamese official met with Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohamad Bin Osman.

They applauded the strong development of the strategic partnership, saying that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to the country in April helped to increase mutual trust and create a new impetus for the bilateral ties.

They agreed to enhance their coordination to organise activities to mark the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, step up security and defence cooperation, and further their cooperation in regional issues and at multilateral forums.

The officials stressed the need to accelerate the ASEAN Community building in 2018 when Singapore takes on the ASEAN chairmanship.

In addition, both sides were unanimous in the need to foster collaboration in the fields of economy, trade, investment, tourism, science-technology, and education-training.

They will work to encourage Singaporean businesses to pump investment into industries, renewable energy, smart cities, the digital economy, and startups in Vietnam.

While in New Delhi, Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Son and his Indian hosts, including Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, Minister of State for External Affairs, Vijay Kuma Singh, and Deputy National Security Advisor, Rajilder Khanna, said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations is built on the traditional friendship and mutual trust.

Both sides reached a consensus on translating the agreements reached during the visits of President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the Southern Asian nation earlier this year.

They consented to promote collaboration in defence and security and support each other in regional and international matters, as well as at multilateral forums such as the UN, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the ASEAN-India dialogue.

As two-way trade has developed rapidly with revenue of US$ 7.6 billion recorded in 2017, they agreed to work to lift the value to US$ 15 billion by 2020.

They stated that Indian firms are encouraged to expand their operations in Vietnam in the fields of energy, infrastructure, education, and information and technology./.

NDO