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General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Central Committee and President of Viet Nam To Lam held talks with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on May 29, agreeing to promote science – technology and innovation as a pillar of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The talks followed a state-level welcome ceremony held with the highest protocol accorded to a head of state at the headquarters of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
President Shanmugaratnam welcomed General Secretary and President To Lam, his spouse, and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation on their state visit to Singapore, and congratulated the Vietnamese leader on his election as State President by the 16th National Assembly.
Recalling his guest’s official visit to Singapore in March 2025 in the capacity as Party General Secretary and the highly productive meetings and talks between the two sides at that time, the host expressed his belief that this time's visit in the new capacity will offer deeper discussions and exchanges, thereby further advancing bilateral relations in a more profound and substantive manner.
Highly valuing and expressing admiration for Viet Nam’s fast development, the Singaporean leader voiced his confidence that under the leadership of the CPV, headed by General Secretary and President To Lam, Viet Nam will continue developing dynamically and further enhance its international standing.
Amid complex and unpredictable global developments, he stressed that he and other Singaporean leaders are looking forward to the Vietnamese Party and State leader’s keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue on the evening of May 29 to gain further insights into Viet Nam’s vision on the region and the world.
General Secretary and President To Lam stressed that his visit reaffirms Viet Nam’s consistent high priority given to relations with Singapore and its determination to build a model partnership for the new era.
He congratulated Singapore on its development achievements in recent years, affirming that the city state’s successes, especially amid current global uncertainties, reflect its proactiveness, confidence and vision.
During the talks, the two leaders showed their satisfaction with the sound and comprehensive development of bilateral ties since the elevation of relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2025. Political trust has deepened, economic cooperation has become closer, and people-to-people exchanges more robust. The two countries are also expanding cooperation to key areas such as digital transformation, science and technology, clean energy, carbon credit exchange, cybersecurity, emerging technologies, and financial centres.
They emphasised the important role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and noted that there remains significant room for cooperation to promote ASEAN connectivity and collaboration initiatives in the coming period.
The two sides also exchanged views on directions for future cooperation and agreed to further deepen political trust. They highly valued the increasingly substantive cooperation between the two ruling parties, which serves as a foundation for strategic connectivity and long-term cooperation between the two countries.
Both host and guest agreed to create new breakthroughs in economic ties to ensure greater depth, quality and efficiency, promote high-quality bilateral investment flows focused on strategic and high value-added sectors, and strengthen business connectivity.
Viet Nam spoke highly of the ASEAN Power Grid initiative and pledged to contribute responsibly to its implementation as it recognised the critical importance of energy to development, particularly in science and technology.
President Shanmugaratnam agreed with General Secretary and President Lam on promoting science – technology and innovation as a pillar of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including through accelerating the implementation of the “State – Business – Researcher” connectivity model to better link research with practical application.
The two sides also agreed to further deepen defence – security cooperation commensurate with the stature of bilateral ties and the high level of political trust while expanding ties to new areas. Both underscored the importance of strengthening the social foundation of bilateral relations through cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing effective coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, supporting multilateralism, and enhancing the role of the United Nations in addressing global security and development challenges. They pledged to reinforce ASEAN centrality, particularly as Singapore assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027 and Viet Nam hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2027.
They also stressed the importance of promoting negotiations toward an effective, substantive and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea/South China Sea (COC).
The leaders agreed to direct ministries and agencies of both countries to actively implement the agreements reached, thereby ushering the Viet Nam – Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into a new phase of higher-quality development.
On this occasion, General Secretary and President To Lam invited President Shanmugaratnam and his spouse to visit Viet Nam. The Singaporean leader gladly accepted the invitation.
