He made the statement on June 22 when he was received by Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung, during his 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.
At the meeting (Photo: HNMO)
Speaking at the meeting, Singaporean Foreign Minister V. Balakrishnan said that during the 48 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Vietnam and Singapore have been major trading partners. In recent years, Singapore has always been a leading source of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Vietnam, and the Vietnam - Singapore industrial parks (VSIP) have come into operation very effectively.
Sharing the city’s development over the past several years, Secretary Dung said that Hanoi has been seeing rapid urbanization and is striving to attract FDI to boost local economic growth, noting that among foreign investors in Hanoi, Singapore ranks second with total registered capital amounting to USD9.38 billion.
He added that as Hanoi wants to become a green, civilized and modern city, it will promote urban renewal with infrastructure development and expansion of green spaces.
“Hanoi focuses on combining the development of satellite urban areas, and connecting infrastructure to develop the role of the capital region as the center linking with neighboring provinces,” he went on to say. “The city authority is steadfast in its goal of taking businesses and people as the center to serve, and is accelerating the progress of building a smart city. In that context, promoting international cooperation to transfer technology and experience is very necessary, especially with Singapore.”
At the meeting, the two sides also discussed many issues of mutual concern, including urban planning and greening, improving people's lives, building an infrastructure contingency plan in line with the desire for future urban development, and necessary preparations to enter the digital age.
Secretary Dung agreed with the proposal of the Singaporean Foreign Minister on enhancing sharing and learning experiences between the two sides.
He also expected the Singaporean FM will act as a bridge between Singapore and Hanoi, and Vietnam at large, to further advance the bilateral ties./.