Singapore (VNA) – Vietnam and Singapore are topimportant partners of each other ♑in many fields from trade and investment todiplomacy, security and defence, said Dr Le Hong Hiep, a Senior Fellow at the Vietnam Studies Programme and the Regional Strategic and Political Studies Programme of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident reporters in Singapore ahead of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to Vietnam fromAugust 27-29, the fact that leaders of the two countries have regularly paid mutual visits is understandable and a positive trend. PM Lee's upcoming visit will contribute to strengthening the bilateral relations,enhancing strategic trust between leaders of the two countries, and realisingsigned agreements and signing new agreements, especially in the field ofeconomic cooperation. According to the expert, those activities will contribute todeepening the bilateral strategic partnership and help the two nations achieve their goals, especially in economic development. Hiep said that the Vietnam-Singapore relationship has developed quite comprehensively over the past time, covering different fields from diplomacy, security, and strategy to trade and investment.Particularly, in recent times, the two countries have also expanded cooperation tonew fields, including green economy, digital economy, and innovation. The investment ties between the two countries,especially Singapore's investment in Vietnam, is a bright spot in their bilateralrelations. In recent years, Singapore has recorded thelargest amount of registered investment capital in Vietnam. In the first seven months of 2023, among 94 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, Singaporeranked first with total investment of nearly 3.64 billion USD, accounting formore than 22.4% of total investment capital in Vietnam. Besides investment poured by major Singaporean enterprises such as CapitaLand, Sembcorp,and Mapletree, Singapore has also acted as agateway to bring international capital into Vietnam as many multinationalcompanies invest in Vietnam through legal entities established in Singapore. Singapore is also a gateway for many Vietnamese businesses tocall for capital from foreign investors, or to reach out to the international market,typically in the case of electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast. He recommended that in the coming time, the two sides shouldcontinue to promote cooperation in traditional fields such as infrastructuredevelopment, education and training, trade, and investment. On the other hand,they need to step up cooperation in new fields such as climate changeresponse, green economy, digital economy, and innovation which they have greatpotential for cooperation and match with the development goals of the twocountries. Hiep added that the two countries are discussing the developmentof offshore wind farms in Vietnam and exporting wind power to Singapore. Thoseprojects not only help the two countries work towards reducing greenhouse gasemissions and achieving net zero emissions in the future but also help Vietnamexploit the great potential of renewable energy.

In addition, as the two sides share strategic visions on theregional and international security situation, they can also consider deepeningbilateral cooperation in security and defence.

They can also enhance consultation and♌ coordination ininternational forums to better protect their national ꦿinterests and contributeto the maintenance of a rules-based international order.

Hiep assessed that in the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), Vietnam and Singapore have close strategic mindset. Inparticular, both countries emphasised the role of a balanced diplomaticstrategy, strategic self-reliance, supremacy of international law, as well asthe need to maintain an international order based on international law. He said that both countries also share a vision of a united,cohesive ASEAN that plays a central role in the regional security architectures.All these create favourable conditions for the two countries to consult andcoordinate their views and stances on issues of common concern. According to the expert, in the near future, the two sides need tocoordinate their views to solve basic issues which are directly related to bilateralinterests such as the East Sea or the water resource management in the MekongRiver. Other issues include the political crisis in Myanmar, andASEAN's relations with the US and China in the context of increasingly fiercestrategic competition between the two powers. Such coordination activities will contribute to strengtheningpolitical trust between the two countries, thereby helping to deepen thebilateral strategic partnership in the long run, he stressed./.