Vietnam, Singapore officials hold 17th political consultation in Hanoi
WVR/VNA - Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Albert Chua co-chaired the 17th Vietnam–Singapore Political Consultation in Hanoi on August 26, 2025.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Albert Chua. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
During the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Cuong underlined the significance of the consultation mechanism, noting that this year’s meeting came as the two countries celebrate major anniversaries - Singapore’s 60th National Day, and Vietnam’s 80th August Revolution and National Day (September 2).
The two sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed ways to implement agreements in key areas reached by the two countries' leaders, especially following the upgrade of the bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the historic visit of Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse to Singapore in March, 2025.
Both sides expressed their delight at the positive developments under this new framework. Trade turnover reached 5.9 billion USD in the first half of 2025, up 17.5% year on year. Singapore’s investment in Vietnam rose nearly fivefold over the past decade, totalling 86.5 billion USD with 4,160 projects, ranking first among ASEAN countries and second globally. The network of 20 Vietnam–Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Vietnam's 13 provinces has played an important role in this success. Cooperation has also expanded in defence, security, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, helping deepen mutual understanding.
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| Overview of the meeting. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
The two sides agreed to finalise soon an Action Programme to implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They pledged to boost collaboration in emerging areas such as science and technology, innovation, carbon credits, and clean energy connectivity, contributing to both countries’ carbon neutrality targets by 2050 and the ASEAN Power Grid initiative.
Deputy Foreign Minister Cuong applauded Singapore’s continued expansion and upgrade of second-generation VSIPs (VSIP 2.0), and proposed bringing this successful model to the Mekong sub-region to generate new growth momentum.
Permanent Secretary Chua suggested stronger cooperation in food security, combating transnational crime, including cybercrime, and closer ties between armed forces, including navies. He reaffirmed Singapore’s readiness to share its experience with Vietnam and other Mekong countries in human resources training, digital transformation, smart cities, and logistics development.
On regional and international issues, the two sides stressed the importance of multilateralism, equality, and balanced interests among nations as prerequisites for peace and stability.
