A friendly city: The Central Business District of Singapore, overlooking the conserved heritage shophouses in Chinatown. — Photo Cheoh Wee Keat.

On the occasion of Singaporean National Day today, the Viet Nam News introduces an article by Ambassador Ng Teck Hean.

This year marks Singapore's 48th National Day as well as the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Viet Nam. Our bilateral relations have grown in tandem with the progress and development of Singapore. Indeed, I am pleased to note that both our countries are poised to take our relations to a higher level with the launch of the Strategic Partnership Agreement created during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to Ha Noi in September 2013.

Singapore-Viet Nam relations have come a long way over the past forty years. Our bilateral trade and investments have grown at a robust pace. Two-way trade grew from S$3.4 billion (US$2.7 billion) in 2000 to S$15.8 billion in 2012, making Singapore the sixth largest trading partner of Viet Nam. Singapore is Viet Nam's second largest foreign investor, with a cumulative registered capital of $28.3 billion across more than 1,000 projects. In the past seven months alone, Singapore has made the most investments in Viet Nam of any foreign country. Our companies have had a long track record in Viet Nam because they see the strong economic potential here. One iconic investment is the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP). Following the first VSIP in Binh Duong in 1996, we have since developed new VSIPs in Hai Phong and Bac Ninh, and the ground-breaking ceremony for the fifth VSIP in Quang Ngai will take place in September 2013.

On the political front, both our countries continue to conduct regular exchanges of high-level visits: CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited Singapore in September 2012 and May 2013, respectively. In September this year, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will visit Viet Nam. These high-level exchanges reaffirm the close ties between our countries' top leaders, and pave the way for new avenues for co-operation in the future.

Each year, Vietnamese students who excel at their studies are awarded scholarships to study in Singapore at the upper secondary and tertiary levels. In Ha Noi, the Viet Nam-Singapore Training Centre conducts weekly training courses for Vietnamese civil servants, and almost 14,000 Vietnamese officials have passed through the Singapore Co-operation Programme since 1992. It is heartening to witness first-hand the keener people-to-people ties which such programmes have fostered, which strengthen the longstanding amity between our countries.

Elevating relations

The elevation of our bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership will consolidate the achievements of our past 40 years of fruitful partnership. It represents our commitment towards strengthening bilateral co-operation. The Strategic Partnership Agreement will address how our countries can work together more closely in areas such as governance, defence, health, arts and culture, and sports.

The Strategic Partnership also builds upon the 2005 Singapore-Viet Nam Connectivity Framework Agreement, under which bilateral economic co-operation was expanded in six economic sectors, namely, education and training, finance, investment, information technology and telecommunications, trade and services, and transportation.

As Strategic Partners, we will look to deepen bilateral economic co-operation. Viet Nam is a highly attractive destination for Singaporean investors. Its enduring appeal stems from factors such as its strategic position in mainland Southeast Asia, its 46 million-strong workforce, and the rise of a Vietnamese middle class with higher disposable incomes. Demand for modern services such as finance, info-communication, education, healthcare, retail, hospitality and tourism is likely to grow, as Viet Nam's economy continues to liberalise and develop. Viet Nam is well-poised to attract foreign investment in these areas from Singapore.

It is encouraging to observe that Singaporean businesses have diversified the scope and geographical focus of their economic involvement, towards higher value-add sectors such as the services industry (e.g. port operations, logistics and healthcare) and in emerging regions within Viet Nam. Since assuming my post in August last year, I have visited 19 provinces in Viet Nam, and the potential for development in these regions never ceases to impress me. I believe that Viet Nam's central government and provincial authorities can play a key role in supporting the activities of our companies in those provinces.

As Singapore and Viet Nam stand on the threshold of a new and exciting phase in their relations, it would be well to remember that our successful partnership so far has only been possible because of the unremitting efforts of our governments, enterprises and peoples. I look forward to many more years of fruitful co-operation between our countries. — VNS