PM Phuc held talks with Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong

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Translated by Anh Kiet 15:27, 2017/03/24

On March 23, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the statement at a meeting with the media following his talks with Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong in Hanoi that Vietnam and Singapore have agreed to boost connectivity across the fields of trade, investment, transport, education and training as well as in other important areas.

PM Phuc noted that both sides agreed to build the East Sea into a region of peace and friendship in the spirit of abiding by international law, upholding maritime and aviation freedom and serving mutual development. The two sides also agreed to accelerate ties in culture, education, training and other areas of mutual concern, he added.

Vietnam appreciated Singapore’s coordinating role in the ASEAN-China relations, PM Phuc said, affirming Viet Nam’s collaboration with Singapore to promote the ASEAN-China ties and thanking PM Lee for his commitment to supporting Vietnam to successfully organize the APEC Year 2017.

Thanking PM Phuc for the warm welcome, Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong expressed his delight to return to Vietnam after three years and expressed his wish that the visit would create a big step forward in accelerating the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership. He agreed that the economic relations between the two countries are growing strongly, manifested through the signing of six cooperative documents in the field of economics.

During their talks, the two sides discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern, particularly the East Sea issue. PM Lee shared his stance on the resolution of the East Sea disputes, which is to respect international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); ensure maritime and aviation freedom in the East Sea; fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon finalize a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

Voicing his support for Vietnam to successfully organize the APEC 2017, PM Lee said he will return to Vietnam later this year to attend the APEC Summit in Da Nang, while repeating his invitation to PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc to visit Singapore in the near future.

Expressing his delight to visit Vietnam, PM Lee spoke highly of the outstanding achievements Viet Nam has attained in its national construction and development cause and agreed to accelerate the strategic partnership in a more substantive fashion.

Both sides agreed to further promote political relations through the regular exchange of high-level delegations of the Party, State, government and National Assembly, adding that people-to-people exchange will be an important premise for the strong development of other fields.

The leaders hailed the vigorously growing economic, trade and investment ties as a solid pillar of the bilateral strategic partnership, while affirming their efforts to promote the favorable business environment and strengthen connectivity between businesses.

The Singaporean PM pledged to support Vietnamese enterprises to participate further in the global market and supply chain, consider the establishment of high-tech industrial parks which also function to accelerate trade between Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries.

Both sides agreed to continue effectively implementing the Framework Agreement on Vietnam-Singapore Connectivity. Singapore will support Vietnam in developing smart cities, enhancing the corporate governance capacity and improving the people’s living standard; share its experience and facilitate Vietnamese startups’ access to capital from investment funds; and boost connection between big Vietnamese cities, such as Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, with Singapore.

The two PMs shared the common view of a region of peace, stability, security, safety and prosperity, pledging to accelerate bilateral security-defence ties via the exchange of high-level visits and the maintenance of consultation mechanisms as well as bilateral and multilateral activities.

The leaders voiced their concern over increasing terrorism and piracy in the region and agreed to strengthen the sharing of information and experience in the fight against terrorism, maritime security and transnational crimes. PM Lee affirmed the willingness to support Vietnam in building capacity for law enforcement and anti-crime forces.

In addition to bilateral cooperation issues, the two PMs discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern, pledging to facilitate free trade and continue participating in regional initiatives such as the ASEAN Economic Community, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). Both countries will continue working closely with each other as well as with other members in seeking solutions to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). PM Lee affirmed Singapore’s support for Vietnam in the APEC Year 2017.

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