Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (L) witness the exchange of the cooperation agreement between the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association and the Singapore International Foundation. (Photo: VNA)
Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his spouse left Hanoi in the evening of March 26, successfully concluding their two-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse.
Seeing off the Singaporean PM and his entourage at the Noi Bai International Airport was Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tran Phuoc Anh.
During his visit, PM Wong and his spouse paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at the late leader's mausoleum and laid flowers at the monument commemorating heroic martyrs on Bac Son street in Hanoi.
Party General Secretary To Lam held a reception for PM Wong, while State President Luong Cuong and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also had meetings with the Singaporean leader. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted an official welcome ceremony, and held bilateral talks, and a banquet in honour of PM Wong.
The Vietnamese and Singaporean PMs witnessed the signing of several cooperation agreements, including a letter of intent on developing an action programme for the Vietnam-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Other pacts cover offshore wind power trade, cross-border QR code payments, digital development and innovation, and people-to-people exchange.
They also attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in the northern province of Thai Binh (VSIP Thai Binh).
Hosting the Singaporean PM, the Vietnamese leaders emphasised the significance of Wong’s official visit, describing it as a key milestone - the first high-level exchange following the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Party General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Singapore.
They noted that this visit marks a highlight of 2025, a year commemorating the 80th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day and the 60th anniversary of Singapore’s National Day, and reflects both nations' commitment to concretising their new cooperation framework.
PM Wong expressed his delight at making his first official visit to Vietnam as Prime Minister, especially following Party General Secretary To Lam’s trip to Singapore, which aimed to advance concrete cooperation initiatives between the two nations.
Both sides expressed satisfaction with the strong and dynamic progress in the bilateral relations and agreed on decisive and timely measures to strengthen political trust and create new breakthroughs in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They prioritised the swift completion and effective implementation of the 2025-2030 Action Programme.
The leaders agreed on “six major goals” in bilateral cooperation, which encompasses deeper political trust, more substantive defence cooperation, more effective economic connectivity, stronger people-to-people exchanges, more breakthrough science-technology collaboration, and closer international and regional cooperation.
The two sides agreed to maintain ASEAN's shared stance on the East Sea issue, underscoring the importance of freedom and safety of navigation and aviation. They emphasised the need to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and foster an environment conducive to the development of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
On this occasion, Party General Secretary To Lam’s spouse Ngo Phuong Ly also received spouse of the Singaporean PM, Loo Tze Lui. They also contemplated a water puppetry performance at the Presidential Palace.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s spouse Le Thi Bich Tran and Loo visited the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi./.
