FM Balakrishnan is on an official visit to Vietnam to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)’s High-level Policy Dialogue, an initiative by Vietnam on the occasion of the grouping’s 25th anniversary.
The Singaporean diplomat expressed his admiration for Hanoi’s long history and cultural richness, saying the capital city has a distinctive blend of old and new and this should be preserved in conjunction with its urban development effort. He added that Hanoi and Singapore can learn from each other’s experience in multiple fields.
Dung, for his part, briefed his guest about the city’s development over the past several years.
Hanoi has been seeing rapid urbanization and is striving to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to boost local economic growth, the secretary said, noting that among foreign investors in Hanoi, Singapore ranks second with total registered capital totaling 9.38 billion USD.
He said as Hanoi wants to become a green, civilized and modern city, it will promote urban renewal with infrastructure development and expansion of greenery spaces.
To this end, it is important to beef up cooperation with foreign partners, including Singapore, in technology transfer and experience sharing.
Dung expected the Singaporean FM will act as a bridge between Singapore and Hanoi, and Vietnam at large, to further advance the bilateral ties./.
VNA/VNP
