Toast Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the State Banquet in honour of President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc

Your Excellency Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,

Madam Tran Nguyet Thu

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Your Excellency President Phuc, Madam Thu, and your delegation to Singapore. We are delighted that Your Excellency’s visit is the first State Visit that Singapore is hosting since the onset of COVID-19 more than two years ago. This attests to the strong and enduring friendship between our countries.

This is Your Excellency’s first State Visit to Singapore. Of course, you have visited Singapore on many occasions. You are an old friend of Singapore. In the early 1990s, you spent some time studying economics at the National University of Singapore. You visited Singapore in 2015 as a Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow and in 2018 in your capacity as the Prime Minister of Vietnam. We are happy to welcome Your Excellency back to Singapore, this time as the President of Vietnam.

Singapore and Vietnam share historical links that pre-date Singapore’s independence in 1965. In the 19th century, boats brought produce including rice from Vietnam to Singapore. This could have been the reason why a small triangle shaped islet right in the middle of the Singapore River was called “Pulau Saigon” or Saigon island. The islet was later filled in and joined with the Singapore mainland. Today you can see condominiums and many restaurants in the area. In the 20th century, Vietnam’s founding father Ho Chi Minh visited Singapore twice in 1930 and 1933 to rally support for Vietnam’s independence. The Ho Chi Minh commemorative marker near the Asian Civilisations Museum commemorates this significant historical connection between Vietnam and Singapore.

Our countries established diplomatic relations in 1973. Over the past five decades, our friendship has gone from strength to strength. Our two countries enjoy excellent and multifaceted cooperation. Today, Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economies and an important partner of Singapore. We will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership next year.

The strong political ties between our two countries are complemented by robust economic cooperation that continues to deepen even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. I am happy to note that Singapore was Vietnam’s top source of foreign investment in 2020 and 2021, with about 20 billion US dollars of investments over the past two years. The ten Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam have attracted 14 billion US dollars of investments and created 270,000 jobs. Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the first VSIP in Binh Duong province. This is a remarkable achievement, reflecting the confidence that Singapore businesses have in Vietnam’s economy and growth.

Our two countries have strengthened cooperation even during these times of uncertainty. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we kept up the momentum of high-level engagements, and worked closely to ensure resilient supply chains and to provide assistance to each other’s citizens. We have contributed medical supplies and equipment to each other. Our two countries are working to resume connectivity as we re-open our borders and move towards a sustainable post-pandemic recovery.  MOUs were signed this afternoon, covering bilateral cooperation in areas ranging from defence, intellectual property protection, digital economy, trade, and people to people exchanges. In my meeting with President Phuc earlier today, we also discussed expanding the collaboration between our two countries into emerging areas such as, innovation, cybersecurity, smart cities, sustainable infrastructure, clean energy, and climate change. These are key areas that will enable our countries to build back better from the pandemic.

In the region, Singapore and Vietnam are close partners. As fellow members of ASEAN, our countries work closely with each other and share similar outlook on many regional issues. We are committed to uphold ASEAN Centrality and unity, an open and rules-based order, and deeper regional economic integration. ASEAN is the foundation upon which the partnership between Singapore and Vietnam stands. Both our countries have much at stake in a cohesive Southeast Asia.

Singapore has been a strong supporter of Vietnam’s human resource development. Last November, we marked the 20th anniversary of the signing of the agreement to establish the Vietnam-Singapore Cooperation Centre in Hanoi, and the 20,000th Vietnamese participant of the Singapore Cooperation Programme. These are important milestones that reflect the close people-to-people ties. I hope that as our borders begin to reopen, our tourism, education and cultural exchanges can resume to the benefit of our peoples.

I am happy to host Your Excellency President Phuc and your delegation today at the Istana. I welcome this opportunity to reaffirm the warm friendship and cooperation between our countries.

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I now invite you to rise and join me in a toast:

To the continued good health and success of His Excellency President Phuc and Madam Thu;

To the peace, progress, and prosperity of the people of Vietnam; and

To the enduring friendship between Singapore and Vietnam.

Thank you.