PM Lee Hsien Loong at the dinner hosted by PM of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung (Jan 2010)

Your Excellency Prime Minister Dung
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Let me first thank Prime Minister Dung and our Vietnamese hosts for the warm and gracious hospitality that you have shown to me and my delegation. My last visit to Hanoi was three years ago, in November 2006, to attend the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Hanoi is a vibrant city combining tradition and modernity, and is a fitting capital for a fast developing Vietnam. I am delighted to visit Hanoi again, when it is celebrating the millennium of its founding.

Bilateral relations between our countries have stepped up in all areas, particularly since Prime Minister Dung assumed the premiership in 2006. Singapore was happy to host the State Visit by President Nguyen Minh Triet in November last year, which followed President S R Nathan’s State Visit to Vietnam in February 2008. These high-level visits, as well as our exchanges at all levels, underscore our close political ties.

Our economic links have strengthened considerably in recent years. Bilateral trade between our countries stood at S$13 billion last year. Singapore is also Vietnam’s fifth largest investor, with total investments of around US$17 billion in 760 projects.

The Connectivity Framework Agreement, now in its fifth year, underpins our economic cooperation. Our two countries invested much effort to discuss and come up with this Agreement, and subsequently to develop six sectors of cooperation. I am therefore cheered by the good progress made in all these sectors. Our officials have identified new areas of cooperation, in urban development and other fields, and I encourage both sides to push ahead in these new areas too.

Our strong government-to-government links provide a conducive environment for our private sector corporations to pursue business opportunities together. The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), a joint project by Vietnam’s Becamex Corporation and Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries, is an icon of our successful economic partnership. Prime Minister Dung and I officiated at the 10th Anniversary of the VSIP in Binh Duong Province in 2006. Since then, it has continued to make headway, and are building townships in Bac Ninh Province and now Hai Phong City.

The VSIPs serve as concrete symbols of our strong partnership and our confidence in the future of Vietnam. I am delighted that Prime Minister Dung and I will together officiate at the Ground Breaking Ceremony for the fourth VSIP in Hai Phong City tomorrow. I am particularly happy to do this because I understand that Hai Phong is Prime Minister Dung’s constituency.

Our people-to-people ties are growing strongly too. Vietnam is an attractive tourism destination for Singaporeans. Your country has many beautiful places with enormous tourism potential. On this trip, I am glad to have the opportunity to visit Ha Long Bay. I have heard a lot about this UNESCO World Heritage Area, and look forward to seeing its wonderful natural beauty.

Singapore likewise welcomes many Vietnamese tourists every year, as well as thousands of Vietnamese students. At the last count, we received a quarter of a million Vietnamese tourists in 2009. Through these exchanges, our peoples, especially our youth, can develop strong ties of friendship with one another. This bodes well for our future friendship.

Prime Minister Dung and I had a very good meeting this afternoon. We discussed promising new areas of cooperation at the government-to-government level, including a wide range of programmes to build up Vietnam’s capabilities, for example in human resource, transportation and tourism. At the same time, we agreed that the two countries should actively foster further commercial opportunities in sectors such as telecommunications, port and logistics as well as financial services and civil aviation.

As I told Prime Minister Dung, Singapore welcomes Vietnamese companies to invest and do business in our country. Singaporean companies, big and small, are also eager to participate in Vietnam’s growth. We hope that the Vietnamese government will support their ventures and facilitate their operations. A vibrant economic and commercial relationship will complement our cordial government-to-government cooperation and build a fuller and mutually beneficial friendship between Singapore and Vietnam.

Beyond our bilateral partnership, our countries also work closely at regional forums. Vietnam chairs ASEAN this year. ASEAN relies on your leadership to implement the Charter fully, and to establish an ASEAN Community by 2015. Singapore will give our full support to help make Vietnam’s Chairmanship a success.

We also look forward to Vietnam joining the expanded Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP), together with the US, Australia and Peru. Together, we can develop the TPP as a viable building block towards an eventual Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

Singapore is committed to a long term partnership with Vietnam. Our two countries share common interests and similar perspectives on many issues. There is therefore much scope for us to build on our ties and work together for the betterment of our peoples and our region.

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 Your Excellency Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, peace and prosperity of Vietnam, and enduring friendship between Vietnam and Singapore.