Singapore, Vietnam enhance economic and investment connectivity

Minister Dung co-chaired a meeting on September 18 with Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore Tan See Leng, during which both sides concurred to continue ramping up co-operation in innovation, promoting applied research capabilities and creative startups.

They also took time to discuss orientations aimed at expanding collaboration in clean energy, the importance of wind power development projects, the establishment of an ASEAN electricity grid, and solutions and challenges Singapore is currently facing in the energy transition process towards a hydrogen economy.

Both host and guest witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Enterprise Singapore and the Foreign Investment Agency under the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment.

This document is designed to boost economic collaboration between the two countries in an effective, substantive, and comprehensive fashion, whilst further facilitating the exchange of information and support businesses from both countries in their investments and operations.

It will therefore help to expand research, explore opportunities, and carry out effective investment and business activities in key sectors.

In particular, a "Singapore Unit" will be set up at the Foreign Investment Agency, with a view towards increasing support for quality investment projects from Singapore into Vietnam and vice versa.

As part of his address, Minister Dung stressed that both sides need to ensure that the "Singapore Unit" is genuinely effective rather than merely symbolic, by providing support, serving as a bridge, and being a solid foundation for future bilateral economic, trade, and investment development.

The two sides also announced the Vietnam-Singapore Innovation Talent Exchange Programme aimed at further facilitating the exchange of 300 young and talented individuals in technology and innovation between the two countries during its first year of implementation. The programme is expected to start in the first half of 2025.

On September 19, the Minister visited the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR), as well as its Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) and the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech).

The Vietnamese Minister said that as innovation is a special interest of the nation, he hopes that throuh Singapore's support and appropriate investment resources, the country will soon establish an integrated centre for several key sectors, similar to the ARTC and SIMTech models.

Furthermore, he suggested that the two sides augment co-operation in education and training in the field of innovation.

Singapore currently ranks second among the 146 nations and territories investing in the Vietnamese market. Singaporean investors have poured capital into 18 out of the 21 Vietnamese economic sectors, with a focus on processing, manufacturing, real estate, and electricity and gas production and distribution.