SINGAPORE - President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have written to their counterparts in Vietnam, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, respectively, to congratulate them on their election at the ongoing 11th Session of Vietnam's 14th National Assembly.
In her letter to Mr Phuc, which was made public by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Madam Halimah said that Singapore and Vietnam are longstanding partners and enjoy excellent relations across many sectors.
"The close friendship between our two countries is built on mutual trust and common interests, which have guided our strong partnership in multilateral fora, including the United Nations and Asean," she wrote, noting that bilateral relations have continued to grow even amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Madam Halimah highlighted the progress made by the two countries to break new ground in areas such as innovation, smart cities, clean energy, and digital economy.
"I am confident that there is much potential for Singapore and Vietnam to do even more together in the post-Covid-19 world," the Singapore President wrote.
She also invited Mr Phuc to make a state visit to Singapore.
Extending his congratulations to Mr Chinh, Prime Minister Lee observed that Vietnam has made impressive economic and developmental progress in the last decade.
"Notwithstanding the challenge of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam has continued to grow from strength to strength, which attests to your dynamism, adaptability, resilience, and innovation," wrote Mr Lee.
Calling Singapore and Vietnam longstanding friends and strategic partners, Mr Lee pointed out that Singapore is Vietnam's third-largest foreign investor, and the two nations have deep relations across the board in security, trade, education and finance.
"We are also working to expand our cooperation in new areas, including the digital economy, cyber security, clean energy, and smart cities. I look forward to working closely with you in these areas," Mr Lee wrote to Mr Chinh.
The Singapore Prime Minister also invited Mr Chinh to make an official visit to Singapore at his earliest convenience.
