The 9th Vietnam – Singapore Ministerial Meeting on Connectivity took
place in Ho Chi Minh City on April 16 to discuss ways to intensify
bilateral economic cooperation.
Vietnamese Minister
of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and Singaporean
Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, co-chaired the meeting, which is held
annually to review the implementation of pledged cooperation contents as
well as put forth future action plans and programmes.
During the event, the two sides reviewed the implementation of the
Vietnam-Singapore Agreement on Economic Connectivity (VSAEC) since the
previous meeting in Singapore on April 2012.
Signed in 2005, the VSAEC is a comprehensive cooperation programme
focusing on finance, education and training, transportation, information
technology and telecommunications, investment, and trade and services.
Both sides discussed measures to expand scope of
cooperation in line with each country’s potential and strengths as well
as to deepen their economic cooperation.
Through the
VSAEC’s specific activities, Vietnam affirmed its viewpoints and
interest in economic cooperation with Singapore. It asked the
Singaporean side to jointly carry out new initiatives within the
framework of the agreement and encourage its businesses to invest in
Vietnam .
The same day, the Singapore minister
had a meeting with Ho Chi Minh City leaders during which he stressed
that Singapore wants to expand multi-faceted cooperation with Vietnam
in general and HCM City in particular.
Lim
highlighted services as the most potential area in bilateral
cooperation, saying that Vietnam is shifting from an agriculture-based
economy to the one focusing on production and services and Singapore
wishes to join this process.
The two sides see great
potential for cooperation in finance, banking, logistics, retail sales,
education and health, he added.
The minister
affirmed that Singapore wants to intensify not only high-ranking
connectivity with Vietnam but also connectivity between the two
countries’ firms.
Secretary of the municipal Party
Committee Le Thanh Hai lauded cooperation achievements the two countries
have made in the fields of investment, trade, tourism and education,
which he said contribute to fostering the relationship between the two
countries.
By 2012, Singaporean businesses invested
over 5 billion USD in more than 600 projects in HCM City, accounting for
one fourth of Singapore’s total FDI in Vietnam.-VNA