Prime Minister: Requesting Singapore to facilitate the entry of Vietnamese agricultural products into its distribution system

On March 26, following the official welcome ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the visit by his Singaporean counterpart held great significance, marking the first high-level exchange between the two countries since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership during the official visit of Party General Secretary To Lam to Singapore.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed his pleasure at making his first official visit to Vietnam in his role as Prime Minister. He noted that this visit follows General Secretary To Lam’s visit to Singapore and aims to further advance the implementation of the detailed cooperation outcomes agreed upon by both sides.

Facilitating the entry of Vietnamese agricultural products

The two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction with the strong progress in bilateral relations. Singapore has maintained its position as the second-largest foreign investor in Vietnam. Recently, two more Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) received investment approval, bringing the total number to 20 parks across 14 provinces and cities. Bilateral trade has seen steady growth, reaching USD 10.3 billion in 2024. Vietnam has become the largest rice exporter to Singapore. The two leaders also acknowledged positive developments in defense and security cooperation, education and training, science and technology, tourism, labor, and people-to-people exchanges.

Both sides agreed to take “decisive and timely” measures to strengthen political trust and create new breakthroughs in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In the immediate term, they aim to promptly finalize and effectively implement the Action Program for the 2025–2030 period under the new partnership framework.

The two leaders also concurred on the need to enhance high-level exchanges and delegations at all levels, as well as to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, particularly the annual meeting mechanism between the Prime Ministers of both countries. They emphasized deepening defense and security cooperation—especially in cybersecurity—on the basis of mutual trust and understanding, contributing to regional and global peace, stability, and development.

The Prime Ministers pledged to strengthen economic connectivity by leveraging the five pillars of the Agreement on Economic Connectivity and advancing the Green Economy–Digital Economy Partnership, aiming to make Vietnam–Singapore cooperation a model for regional collaboration.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on Singapore to facilitate the inclusion of Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, along with processed food, into Singapore’s distribution system. He also proposed the development of a next-generation VSIP 2.0 network that is sustainable and smart, incorporating advanced manufacturing technologies to maximize the effectiveness of attracting high-quality investment into Vietnam. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed that both sides should clarify the core components required to upgrade the current VSIP model into VSIP 2.0, in line with greener, smarter, and more efficient development goals.

Enhancing cooperation in food security

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed his agreement with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s proposal of the “Six Enhancements,” which call for: deeper political trust, more substantive defense and security cooperation, more effective economic connectivity, closer people-to-people exchanges, more groundbreaking cooperation in science, technology, and innovation, and stronger regional and international coordination. He also suggested that the two countries make substantive progress in areas such as offshore wind power exports, carbon credit exchange, and financial technology cooperation—particularly through cross-border retail payment connectivity using QR codes and cross-border data sharing—thus further facilitating business operations between the two nations.

The two Prime Ministers reached a consensus to further enhance collaboration in several important fields, such as education and training, human resource development, food security, cultural and artistic exchange, tourism, air connectivity, and business-to-people engagement.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has put forth a proposal for Singapore to consider accepting Vietnamese workers through labor visa schemes. He also suggested a broadening of sectors eligible for the recruitment of Vietnamese labor and the facilitation of Vietnamese language instruction in schools that have a considerable population of Vietnamese students. He emphasized the significance of showcasing the positive contributions of the Vietnamese community in Singapore.

Both parties acknowledged the strong coordination and mutual support between Vietnam and Singapore regarding elections and candidacies for positions within United Nations bodies and organizations, highlighting the importance of regional and multilateral cooperation. They reiterated their dedication to collaborating with fellow ASEAN member states to preserve unity, uphold ASEAN’s central position, and advance sustainable development across sub-regions, including the Mekong sub-region.

The two leaders also reaffirmed ASEAN’s common stance on the South China Sea (East Sea), emphasizing the importance of maintaining freedom and safety of navigation and overflight, ensuring the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and fostering a conducive environment for the early conclusion of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct (COC), in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).