Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam (Photo: VNA) The visit is taking place at a "very momentous time” asSingapore and Vietnam are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their bilateraldiplomat ties and 10 years of their strategic partnership, he told the pressahead of the trip.
The upcoming trip and the official visit toSingapore by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in February this year form part of the activities marking the important occasion, the diplomat stressed.
The focus of the Singaporean PM’s visit will be thegreen and digital economic partnership launched by the two PMs in February, hesaid, noting that this is the way both countries would work together andsupport each other in dealing with common challenges.
The ambassador said the partnership covers innovation, which he called a key driver.
“Singapore and Vietnam are among the top threecountries in having the startup scene in Southeast Asia. We are looking to seehow both countries can collaborate much more closer in this area,” he furtherexplained.
Ratnam cited the example of the memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) between the National Innovation Centre (NIC) under theVietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the NationalUniversity of Singapore (NUS) last July.
Under the MoU, NUS and NIC will set up working groupsto strengthen collaboration in innovation and connectivity of the startupecosystems in the two countries in the next three years.
Other spheres include in the green and digitaleconomic partnership and renewable energy as the two countries share the commongoal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
“This will take a lot of effort and massivetransformation of our economies and the way we live our lives,” he noted.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (fifth, from right) witnesses the exchanges of cooperation agreements between agencies and companies of Vietnam and Singapore. (Photo: VNA) Ratnam also spoke of sustainability as the third field inthe partnership, also a key area the two countries need to work together,especially carbon credits.
In October 2022, Singapore and Vietnam signed an MoUto collaborate on carbon credits, aligned with Article 6 of the ParisAgreement. This puts both Singapore and Vietnam in excellent positions tocapture the opportunities generated by carbon markets.
The ambassador expressed his hope that there will beseveral announcements on the new areas in which Singapore and Vietnam cancollaborate during the upcoming visit by his PM.
On the occasion of Vietnam's National Day (September2), the ambassador extended his warmest wishes to Vietnamese leaders andpeople.
He described Vietnam as a country with "strongprinciples" and "a great deal of responsibility", which havehelped it gain trust from other countries.
Lauding Vietnam's increasing role at regional and globalforums, the diplomat expressed his belief that the country will take on moreleadership positions in the region and the world in the coming years./.
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