Vietnam and Singapore have given great priority to strengthening economic, trade and investment cooperation on the basis of promoting the advantages of each country.

Speaking at the meeting with Singapore Ambassador Jaya Ratnam recently at VCCI headquarters, Dr. Vu Tien Loc, President of VCCI, emphasized that the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership has enjoyed positive and substantial developments over the years. The great achievements in trade and investment relations between the two countries have created trust between both sides. VCCI President Loc expected the two sides to promote cooperation in many other fields. Singapore is an important partner of Vietnam, in which the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) is operating very effectively as a symbol of cooperation between the two countries. All the provinces of Vietnam where he came to work wanted Singapore to boost investment and build more model industrial parks like VSIP, he added.

According to Dr. Vu Tien Loc, Vietnam and Singapore still have a lot of room for the two countries to promote cooperation in the coming time, in which Singapore has advantages in capital and Vietnam has advantages in natural resources and human resources. Vietnam encourages Singaporean businesses to invest in high-tech, establish innovation centers, R&D centers, and develop infrastructure of industrial parks; processing and manufacturing industry, supporting industries, high-quality services, and participate in the equitization of state-owned enterprises. Besides, Vietnamese enterprises also want to learn from Singapore in building transparent governance and sustainable development.

Regarding the support program for Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Dr. Vu Tien Loc said that Singapore could help Vietnamese enterprises improve their competitiveness through support and training programs. The more developed Vietnamese enterprises are, the better and more productive cooperation with Singapore will become. VCCI President Loc believed Vietnam and Singapore relations will continue to be nurtured and developed as Mr. Ratnam takes the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Vietnam. Previously, Mr. Ratnam was an ambassador to the EU. VCCI President Vu Tien Loc also hoped that Ambassador Jaya Ratnam would promote Vietnam-Singapore relations in particular and Vietnam-EU as well as ASEAN-EU relations in general.

In agreement with VCCI President Vu Tien Loc, Singapore Ambassador Jaya Ratnam affirmed that Singapore was increasingly interested in expanding investment in Vietnam. Singapore businesses define Vietnam as a market of primary interest not only in traditional economic sectors but also in new areas such as infrastructure and urban solutions, innovation and start-up, e-commerce. "The Embassy and VCCI need to work together to increase cooperation opportunities for businesses of the two countries," Ambassador Jaya Ratnam emphasized.

Regarding the further development of the model of industrial parks like VSIP, Ambassador Jaya Ratnam affirmed that Singapore was ready to build more industrial zones in Vietnam. Ambassador Jaya Ratnam also hoped that the two countries can cooperate closely to turn the Vietnam - Singapore innovation centers into effective and typical innovation centers in the future.

In particular, Ambassador Jaya Ratnam said that, next August, when the World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold an annual special meeting in Singapore, he hopes that Vietnam and VCCI will participate directly in Singapore. In addition, in the context that the pandemic has been gradually controlled in the two countries, Ambassador Jaya Ratnam highly hoped that Vietnam and Singapore will gradually open their borders so that businesses can travel more easily.