Attending the meeting were representatives of 23 member enterprises of the Federation.
Thanks to the warm welcome of the Hanoi government, Mr. Douglas Foo affirmed that the solid foundation of the Singapore-Vietnam relationship is the strong cooperation commitments with Hanoi Capital.

Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung welcomes the President of Singapore Manufacturing Federation, Mr. Douglas Foo

Over 85 years of establishment and development, the Federation has witnessed and contributed to the modernization and industrialization process of Singapore. With the goal of 20% of Singapore's GDP based on industry, the application of IT to socio-economic development is also a leading trend in the country. In 2018 when Singapore is rotating presidency of ASEAN, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has suggested using digital technology to link intra-regional economies, including Singapore and Vietnam. Mr. Douglas Foo expects the Hanoi government to facilitate projects with Singapore in this area as well as facilitate opportunities for both sides to cooperate more extensively.
In this regard, Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee agreed that the business connection through digital technology will be the long-term development trend of the global and Vietnam in general and Hanoi Capital in particular. By the way, Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee has informed about the socio-economic development of the capital. With estimated GRDP in the first nine months in this year of 8.1%, the city government has set the target of 8.5% by the end of 2017. Of the 260,000 enterprises operating in Hanoi, 37.6% are in the Industry and Support industries.
In Hanoi, technology was initially applied in the enterprise management. Specifically, there is 98% of the tax registration procedures, 100% of customs declaration procedures and 93% of the business registration procedures has been implemented online. The city government is in the process of building an e-government platform with 7.5 million people updated, striving to build a database of land and digitize the entire database. This will also be applied in health, education and technology fields to improve the people’s life quality through high-tech cancer screening, electronic medical records and electronic school records.
Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee expects that Singapore with extensive experience in this field will continue to support the capital in the application of scientific and technical innovations in development, and wishes through the visit, the Singapore enterprises will seek and expand opportunities of technology investment, transfer and joint development on the basis of common interests.
Impressed by the potential development of the capital, the President of Singapore Manufacturing Federation, Mr. Douglas Foo confirmed that technology has been and will be a core element in the development of Singapore and expressed their desire to combine the potential of Hanoi with Singapore's innovative technology and power to create value together. In his capacity, Mr. Douglas Foo pledged to do his best for the further cooperation between Singpore and the provinces and cities of Vietnam.

The whole delegation from Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF)

Relations between Singapore and Vietnam have grown from strength to strength since the two countries established bilateral diplomatic relations on 1 August 1973.  Bilateral ties, which are excellent and multi-faceted, were elevated to that of a Strategic Partnership in 2013, to mark the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The expansion of trade and business links between Singapore and Vietnam over the years has also been a significant factor in forging robust bilateral ties. Economic relations are underpinned by the Connectivity Framework Agreement, an overarching platform to discuss issues on bilateral economic cooperation.  Since its implementation in 2006, the Connectivity Framework has achieved good progress in creating a conducive environment for Singapore companies to invest in Vietnam. As of 2014, Singapore ranked as the third largest foreign investor in Vietnam with registered cumulative investments of US$32.7 billion in over 1,300 projects. The seven Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks in Binh Duong, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Quang Ngai, Hai Duong and Nghe An are concrete symbols of the close economic cooperation between the two countries. Singapore also ranks consistently as one of Vietnam's most important trading partners.