Toast Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the State Banquet Hosted by His Excellency Nguyen Xuan Phuc

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

Madam Tran Nguyet Thu,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank President Phuc for extending such a warm welcome to me and my delegation. I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit Vietnam so soon after Your Excellency’s State Visit to Singapore in February. This is my first overseas State Visit since Singapore reopened its borders in March. Our exchange of visits has allowed us to review, reaffirm and strengthen our multifaceted and substantive bilateralrelationship.

It gives me great pleasure to return to Vietnam almost a decade since my last official visit here as Speaker of Parliament. Vietnam continues to impress every visitor with your dynamism and heritage. You have made immense strides over the past two decades and continue to make remarkable progress despite the unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through it all, Singapore and Vietnam have maintained our steadfast friendship. We continued our engagements throughout the pandemic and extended assistance to each other. Since borders re-opened we have had frequent high-level exchanges, attesting to our mutual interest in expanding cooperation in new and emerging fields. The 50^th anniversary of our diplomatic relations and 10^th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership next year will be a chance for us to take stock of our excellent cooperation, and chart new paths forward for the next 50 years.

Our robust economic collaborations are thecornerstone of our ties. Vietnam has bounced back impressively from COVID-19 to become one of the world’s fastest growing economies this year amid challenging global headwinds. Singapore is pleased to collaborate in and contribute toVietnam’s growth. Singapore has been Vietnam’s top source of foreign investment since 2020. This reflects the strong confidence that businesses have in Vietnam’s economic prospects and potential. The 11 Vietnam-Singapore IndustrialParks (VSIPs) across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam have attracted US$17 billion of investments and created over 300,000 jobs. Several new VSIPs are in the pipeline including the latest in Can Tho City. Moving forward, VSIPintends to incorporate Industry 4.0, sustainability, and green design elements in its next-generation projects, such as VSIP  III in Binh Duong Province. The VSIP is an enduring icon of our bilateral partnership which is built on the close friendship and consultations between two former Prime Ministers of Singapore and Vietnam, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and the late Mr Vo Van Kiet. Prime Minister Kiet had asked Mr Lee to advise Vietnam on its economic opening in the late 80s and early 90s. I am heartened to see that VSIP. has evolved with the times from traditional industrial parks to green integrated townships, capable of attracting high value-added and modern industry.

Looking ahead, I would like to highlight two keypromising areas of cooperation. The first is sustainability. Climate change will be the key planetary challenge of this century.Managing it will require governments and businesses to harness their collective will and resources. Singapore and Vietnam have both committed to significantly reduce our carbon emissions over the coming decades. Collaborations in renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, carbon credits, and green financing will enable us both to achieve our goals in the upcoming green energy transition. Earlier today President Phuc and I agreed that we should step up our cooperation in these relevant areas for our mutual benefit.

The second area is digitalisation. Digitaltransformation will be a major driver of the future economy. We hope to work towards fostering bilateral and regional connectivity and interoperability. This will support the growth of businesses and investments in innovation and technology, and improve our access to the broader ASEAN market and beyond. We look forward to convening the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on the Digital Economy established during Your Excellency’s visit. I am glad that we have also established cooperation in cybersecurity. This will provide the foundation for our agencies and companies to transact with each other easily and securely.

At the regional level, Singapore and Vietnam are likeminded and trusted partners. We are both committed to uphold ASEAN Centrality and unity, promote an open and rules-based order, and deepen regional economic integration. Through ASEAN, Vietnam and Singapore have also enjoyed close cooperation in increasingly transboundary issues such as public health and sustainability. ASEAN is the foundation of our partnership and facilitates the region’s deeper engagement of our external partners through the ASEAN Dialogue Partner mechanism. Both our countries have a stake in the continued cohesion and success of Southeast Asia and I look forward to closely working with Vietnam to strengthen our ties through ASEAN.

Our people-to-people ties give meaning andsubstance to our relations. Singapore has been a strong supporter of Vietnam’s human resource development. Last year, we marked the 20^th anniversary of the agreement to establish the Vietnam-Singapore Cooperation Centre in Hanoi, and the20,000^th Vietnamese participant of the Singapore Cooperation Programme. These milestones reflect our steadfast commitment to building institutional and personal links between our officials.

As global travel resumes, I hope that we can continue to enhance our education, tourism, and cultural exchanges. Singapore’s education institutions are eager to deepen their understanding of Vietnam by organising exchange programmes and study visits here. These interactions will lay the foundation for our continued cooperation over future generations.

In closing, I would like to thank President Phuc and Madam Thu again for your warm hospitality. I am honoured to have very substantive discussions with the Vietnam leaders today, and I am confident that Singapore and Vietnam will continue to collaborate closely as good friends, fellow ASEAN Member States, and Strategic Partners.

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.