Hai Phong proposed Singapore to support in the fields of interest, potential and advantages of the city

On the afternoon of March 29, 2023, at the office of the City Party Committee, Mr. Le Tien Chau, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the City Party Committee welcomed and worked with the delegation of the Embassy of Singapore in Vietnam led by Mr. Jaya. Ratman, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Also attending the meeting were Mr. Hoang Minh Cuong, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee, and leaders of relevant departments and agencies.

The Secretary of the City Party Committee sincerely thanked the Ambassador for visiting Hai Phong and was delighted with the great development of Vietnam - Singapore relations in the fields of politics, economics, culture, and education. The Secretary of the City Party Committee also thanked the Ambassador for his interest in the cooperation relationship between Vietnam-Singapore in general and Hai Phong-Singapore in particular, and the presence of the Ambassador in Hai Phong has clearly demonstrated that. 

At the meeting, Ambassador Jaya Ratman thanked the city leaders for the warm and respectful welcome and affirmed that Vietnam and Singapore have a particularly close relationship. The Ambassador said that in 2022, among 108 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, Singapore was the biggest foreign investor with a capital of up to 6.46 billion USD, accounting for 23.3% of the total FDI in Vietnam. Although affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, in the first month of 2023, investors from island nation of Singapore invested in Vietnam with a capital of 767.6 million USD, accounting for nearly 64% of the total newly registered capital and becoming the biggest investor among 28 countries and territories with licensed projects in Vietnam. This proved great confidence of Singapore in the economic recovery of Vietnam. In the relationship between two countries, it must mention the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), which is the symbol and model of the relationship between the two countries. Currently, there are 13 VSIPs nationwide, among them 01 VSIP in Hai Phong which is operating effectively. At the meeting, the Ambassador hoped that there would be solutions to further promote cooperation relationships between Hai Phong and Singapore, contributing to making the relationship more and more practical and effective.

The scene of the meeting

Secretary of the City Party Committee Le Tien Chau thanked the Ambassador and the delegation for deep concern and responsibility for Hai Phong City and suggested that the Ambassador be the bridge to cooperate and introduce the localities and corporations of Singapore to invest in the fields of interest, potential and advantages of the City, especially in the field of digital transformation and urban management. Hai Phong wants to learn from  experiences of Singapore in the management of infrastructure, traffic, environment, and population...

Currently, Singapore is the 5th trading partner of Vietnam in ASEAN and the 15th trading partner of Vietnam in the world. Therefore, Secretary of the City Party Committee proposed the Ambassador to pay attention to and support Hai Phong City in the fields of renewable energy, logistics, shipbuilding, sustainable development, health, and education at levels, high school, university, and vocational training. Currently, in Hai Phong City, there are two universities, namely Vietnam Maritime University, Hai Phong University, and 10 vocational schools from intermediate to college levels, so he wished to link the training institutions of Singapore with the training institutions of Hai Phong City, supporting the city’s students to study and work in Singapore.

The Secretary of the City Party Committee Le Tien Chau, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Hoang Minh Cuong, and leaders of departments and branches took souvenir photos with Ambassador Jaya Ratman and the delegation.

The Ambassador thanked the Secretary of the City Party Committee for detailed and useful proposals in the fields that the two sides can implement cooperation in the future. This year is an important milestone in the relationship between the two countries, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Singapore, with many activities to be organized such as the Prime Minister of Singapore will visit Vietnam and attend the 7th Singapore Business Forum in Hanoi. The Embassy cordially invited Hai Phong City to participate in the forum as an opportunity to promote the City to become an investment attraction destination. The Ambassador also suggested to organize education conferences.

The Secretary of the City Party Committee assigned the Department of Foreign Affairs to summarize cooperation proposals with Singapore, and coordinate with the Embassy to research, advise and implement appropriate cooperation activities./.

JOLIE NGUYEN