Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung asks Singapore to support the development of international financial centers and to expand and upgrade the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park network

On the morning of 16 April, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung spoke by phone with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Government Office. Wong congratulated Le Minh Hung on being entrusted with the role of Prime Minister for the 2026–2031 term and said he is ready to work with Vietnam to advance the Vietnam–Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a practical and effective manner.

Key proposals and areas of cooperation

Responding to the congratulations, Prime Minister Hung said Vietnam is about to issue a new policy to attract more foreign investment, including from Singapore. He proposed that Singapore support Vietnam in building international financial centers and in expanding and upgrading the Vietnam–Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) industrial network linked to advanced technology transfer.

Wong affirmed strong alignment with the assessments and proposals. He said Singapore values its ties with Vietnam and is ready to implement the agreed content, highlighting plans to increase high-level exchanges and economic cooperation, as well as defense and security cooperation, to contribute to peace, stability and development in the region.

VSIP expansion and human resource development

Wong also stated that Singapore will raise the total number of VSIP industrial parks in Vietnam to 30 in 2026, marking 30 years of the project’s presence. He pledged to continue helping Vietnam train and develop human resources, especially at the strategic level, through new training agreements and by expanding Singapore’s Development Cooperation Program to Vietnam’s provinces.

Implementation of partnership priorities

The two prime ministers agreed to continue strengthening political trust and expanding high-level exchanges and visits. They also reaffirmed maintaining existing collaboration mechanisms, including the annual dialogue between the two prime ministers, and expeditiously implementing the Strategic Dialogue mechanism between the two ruling parties in 2026. They further agreed to cooperate to ensure energy security.

They also reaffirmed prioritizing resources to implement effectively the 2025–2030 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Action Program.

Energy, carbon credits and regional coordination

The leaders discussed the possibility of signing a bilateral intergovernmental agreement on cross-border low-carbon electricity purchases, aiming to create a legal framework to support Vietnam–Singapore offshore wind energy exports.

Wong expressed confidence in continued strong bilateral ties and potential breakthroughs in new areas, including carbon credits exchanges and food security cooperation.

In the broader international context, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed deeper ASEAN cooperation, including coordination in 2027 when Singapore chairs ASEAN and Vietnam hosts APEC. He also called for enhanced defense-security cooperation to counter transnational crime, support for building and operating the National Data Center, High Performance Computing Center and Artificial Intelligence, and advancing negotiations on a functional and effective COC.

Next steps

On the occasion, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong invited Prime Minister Le Minh Hung to make an official visit to Singapore.