Vietnam's PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) shakes hands with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong ahead of their meeting at the Istana in Singapore on April 25, 2018 (Source: AFP) Singapore (VNA) – Singaporean newspapers have ranarticles highlighting the ongoing official visit to Singapore by PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc from March 25-27, and specific outcomes reached duringtalks between the two countries’ Prime Ministers.
Straits Times, Singapore’s leading daily newspaper published in English, saidSingapore and Vietnam signed many agreements to strengthen bilateral ties onenvironmental protection, banking supervision, fintech, renewable energy,liquefied natural gas (LNG) and trade rules.
According to the article, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong andhis visiting counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc toasted the close partnership betweentheir countries, which celebrate 45 years of diplomatic ties this year, at an officialdinner at the Istana on April 25’s night.
It quoted PM Lee as saying that Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang of Vietnamwill be part of a network of smart cities of ASEAN being proposed by Singapore.
More details on the network, which aims to better connect digitalinfrastructure and services like e-payments across the region, will beannounced at the 32nd ASEAN Summit from April 27-28.
Meanwhile, an article on Singapore's Channel News Asia online newspaper highlighted that the signing of six agreements betweenVietnam and Singapore is an important result in the first official visit of PMPhuc to Singapore since he took office.
“One of the agreementswill see the two countries collaborate on LNG development in Vietnam,which entails the exchange of information, sharing of best practices andbuilding of technical capacity between the private and public sectors of bothcountries. This will enable Singapore companies to better understand the needsof the LNG sector in Vietnam and seize more partnership opportunities”, thearticle said.
At the sametime, the agreement on financial innovation will facilitate joint projectsbetween the two countries, help FinTech companies in one jurisdiction betterunderstand the regulatory regime and opportunities in the other, as well asencourage the sharing of information on emerging FinTech trends anddevelopments, it added.
Channel News Asia also mentioned thetalks between the two PMs, during which both leaders said that extensiveinvestment and trade ties form a key pillar of Singapore-Vietnam relations, andagreed that measures such as enforcing regulations as well as strengtheningbusiness-to-business links were important in creating a pro-businessenvironment.
The newspaperquoted PM Lee as saying that the partnership between Vietnam and Singapore goesbeyond economic cooperation as the two sides are working closely on sustainabledevelopment.-VNA
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