Singapore delegation led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrive in Hanoi on August 27 evening. (Photo: SGGP)
This is Mr. Lee Hsien Long’s fifth visit to Vietnam in his position as the Prime Minister of Singapore.
The visit aims to mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Singapore diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership.
According to Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the context of complicated international developments, the two sides still maintained all-level delegation exchanges and contacts.
As soon as the pandemic was basically under control, Vietnam and Singapore lifted travel restrictions and resumed commercial flights in March 2022.
The two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Singapore is estimated at US$8.3 billion in 2021; and US$9.15 billion in 2022, up 11.6 percent year-on-year, including Vietnam’s exports of goods that reached US$4.3 billion and the import value estimated at US$4.8 billion.
This is Mr. Lee Hsien Long’s fifth visit to Vietnam in his position as the Prime Minister of Singapore. (Photo: SGGP)
Mr. Lee Hsien Long's visit aims to mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Singapore diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership. (Photo: SGGP)
In the first six months of 2023, the two-way trade turnover between the two nations was US$4.5 billion, down 5.7 percent compared to 2022. Vietnam’s exports of goods reached US$2 billion, falling 13.1 percent compared to the same period last year, and the import value was estimated at US$2.5 billion, up 1.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
Singapore maintains its top position among ASEAN countries and secures second place among the 141 countries investing in Vietnam with 3,274 valid projects valued at US$73.5 billion.
Singaporean investors have been participating in most of Vietnam's economic sectors and fields, mainly focusing on the manufacturing and processing industries with 775 projects with a total capital of US$28.6 billion, real estate business with 214 projects valued at more than US$19 billion, production, and distribution of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning with 47 projects cost US$11.8 billion.
Singapore’s investment spans 51 out of the 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam. Among those, HCMC led the localities with the highest investment, accounting for 19.3 percent, followed by Hanoi (10.8 percent), Bac Ninh (7.6 percent), Binh Duong, Long An, and Quang Nam.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is welcomed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on August 27. (Photo: SGGP)
Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung (R) welcomes Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Noi Bai International Airport. (Photo: SGGP)
Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) is considered a successful symbol in the Vietnam-Singapore economic cooperation. Since the first VSIP was established in Binh Duong Province in January 1996, there are now 14 VSIPs covering on total area of 11,000 hectares in 10 provinces and cities in Vietnam, attracting 866 projects valued at US$18.7 billion and creating more than 300,000 jobs.
Vietnam has 153 investment projects in Singapore with a total registered capital of more than US$690 million, ranking 10th among the 80 countries where Vietnamese firms are investing in the sectors of science and technology, wholesale and retail, information and communications, real estate, manufacturing and processing industry.
In the first six months of this year, Vietnam received 154,955 Singapore visitors, up 7.39 percent compared to the same period last year. In the first five months of 2023, Singapore welcomed 178,460 Vietnamese tourists. Singapore is also an important market for Vietnam’s tourism and is among the 15 top countries with the largest number of tourists to Vietnam.
There are currently around 15,000 Singapore people, mainly students, who are living in Vietnam.
By Phan Thao – Translated by Kim Khanh