Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam (Photo: VNA)

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's official visit to Vietnam from March 25-26 is expected to further enhance the newly upgraded comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) between the two nations, Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam told the press ahead of the trip.

According to the diplomat, this will be PM Wong’s first official visit to Vietnam since taking office, following Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam’s visit to Singapore less than two weeks ago. While the Party chief was in the island state, the two countries elevated their relations to a CSP, the first between Singapore and an ASEAN country.

However, the sides are not content and are determined to push ahead, the ambassador noted. Wong’s visit so soon after Lam’s reflects the importance the countries place on their relationship and their urgency to build on strong momentum to take bilateral ties to a new era.

Ratnam informed the local press about the PM’s packed and intense programme in Vietnam, focussing on substantive talks with top Vietnamese leaders, including Party General Secretary Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. In fact, Wong and Chinh inaugurated their first annual meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos last year.

The diplomat said the major takeaway from the Vietnamese Party leader’s visit to Singapore was the reaffirmation of the nations’ collective commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation. Wong’s Hanoi schedule reflects that agenda – the ways Vietnam and Singapore can tighten their bonds of friendship to weather the storm together, build up their resilience, and emerge even stronger from current global strains.

Ratnam also said the two nations are natural partners complementary in terms of their competitive advantages and can support each other in areas of comparative weakness.

Their CSP is not just in name but reflects their high level of ambition for the relationship, he assessed. It has also provided a strategic frame to the sides’ Green-Digital Economic Partnership Agreement concluded in 2023 by PM Chinh and then Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong.

Party General Secretary To Lam (L) and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during the former's recent trip to Singapore (Photo: VNA)

The diplomat went on highlighting two new bilateral initiatives under implementation.

The first is the Vietnam - Singapore Energy Partnership (VSEP), which involves major investments by both sides in offshore wind power and subsea cables serving as building blocks of a future ASEAN Power Grid (APG). This will position Vietnam as a regional hub for the green economy. The recent visit of General Secretary Lam also opened up new prospects for bilateral electricity trade cooperation, bringing the two countries closer in this sector.

The second is the sides’ joint work on carbon credits to help them achieve their respective climate commitments and unlock green investment opportunities in Vietnam. Singapore is working on the implementation agreement on carbon credit collaboration, with intent that it be the first between ASEAN countries.

Therefore, the upgrade of bilateral ties to a CSP brings the two countries and economies closer together and contributes to bilateral, regional, and international interests, affirmed the diplomat.

According to him, in 2024, Singapore became Vietnam’s second-largest source of FDI with cumulative investments exceeding 81 billion USD across approximately 3,800 projects. Vietnam was Singapore’s 11th largest trading partner last year and 9th in January 2025.

As Vietnam enters its new era of high economic growth, Singapore’s engagement will only increase, the ambassador said.

He expressed his confidence that the future of bilateral relationship is very bright as the nations share a common challenge and are committed to working together for mutual support. “The glue that holds our relationship together is our ever-growing people-to-people ties.”

Singapore remains a strong supporter of Vietnam’s human resource development, the diplomat added. Under the Singapore Cooperation Programme, it has trained more than 22,000 Vietnamese government officials. Over the past two years, Singapore has expanded the scope and scale of such collaborations, especially through the launch of the Singapore Vietnam Innovation Talent Exchange.

“As more Vietnamese work, visit or study in Singapore, and Singaporeans do the same in Vietnam – these networks of friendships are poised to grow even stronger, which will support our expanding bilateral relations,” he said./.