Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Singaporean Prime Minister attend the groundbreaking ceremony of VSIP Thai Binh

On the morning of March 26, at the Government headquarters, right after the welcoming ceremony and talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Lawrence Wong attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Vietnam - Singapore Thai Binh Industrial Park (VSIP Thai Binh) and exchanged economic cooperation documents between the two countries.

The VSIP Thai Binh Industrial Park infrastructure investment and business project is built in Thuy Truong commune, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province with a land use scale of more than 333 hectares, of which the total recovered land area of ​​278 hectares in phase 1 is invested by VSIP Urban and Industrial Park Development Joint Stock Company with a total capital of more than VND 4,932 billion (equivalent to nearly USD 212 million).

The project of investing in construction and business of infrastructure of VSIP Thai Binh industrial park is of great significance, contributing to promoting investment attraction and economic growth of Thai Binh province; creating a breakthrough in the development of Thai Binh economic zone, becoming a model of high-tech industrial park, green industry, bringing high economic efficiency to the locality, creating many jobs and increasing income, improving the lives of people in Thai Thuy district.

Speaking at the event, recalling the activities during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to Vietnam in August 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's visit to Vietnam came right after Vietnam and Singapore upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the VSIP Thai Binh Industrial Park and the exchange of economic cooperation documents between the two countries are proof of the positive development in the bilateral relationship; turning political, diplomatic, economic, and people-to-people relations into concrete material wealth.

With more than 4,000 investment projects in Vietnam, with a total capital of more than 80 billion USD, Singapore is the second largest foreign investor in Vietnam. Of which, 20 VSIP zones are symbols of effective, sustainable and long-term cooperation between the two governments and business communities of the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that Singapore continue to expand and effectively promote the first-generation VSIP industrial park system, invest in developing the second-generation VSIPs in a sustainable manner, and form ecosystems of science, technology, innovation, industry, urban areas, services, and high technology in many localities in Vietnam. Thereby, the two economies can complement each other; contribute to strengthening the effective and comprehensive cooperative relationship, create momentum to attract new-generation investment projects, contribute to the socio-economic development of both countries; and bring practical benefits to the two countries, the two nations, and the two peoples.

Believing that the Singaporean Prime Minister's visit to Vietnam this time has created new vitality and momentum in the cooperation between the two countries, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh believes that, with the motto "what is said is done, what is committed is done, what is done is done must have results", "resources originate from thinking and vision, motivation originates from innovation, strength originates from the people", in the coming time, Vietnam - Singapore economic cooperation will continue to develop comprehensively, strongly, and make further breakthroughs, contributing to making the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries a typical example of a dynamic and effective relationship in ASEAN, a model to promote intra-bloc cooperation mechanisms in the region as well as in the world.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he had just had a very successful meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, with many cooperation documents between the two countries being signed; he expressed his joy at witnessing the groundbreaking ceremony of VSIP Thai Binh - one of the models considered to be the cornerstone in bilateral relations over the past nearly 30 years, demonstrating Singapore's belief in Vietnam and Vietnam's development potential.

According to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, during the talks, the two sides agreed to develop the VSIP 2.0 network in a sustainable and smart direction, applying smart manufacturing technology to optimize the efficiency of attracting high-quality capital into Vietnam; realizing the agreement between the two sides during General Secretary To Lam's recent visit to Singapore, by promoting cooperation in digital economy, green economy, high technology, including building greener VSIPs. VSIP 2.0 is not only an industrial park but also a center of science, technology, services, smart cities; wastewater treatment, green transportation, environmental protection, cost savings and more efficiency.

Along with other cooperation areas and specific projects such as connecting fiber optic cables, electric cables, etc., the construction and integration of VSIP Thai Binh into the network of 20 VSIPs nationwide will contribute to increasing connectivity, supporting and attracting investment projects to Vietnam; bringing benefits to each country and the relationship between the two countries, as well as increasing economic connectivity within the ASEAN bloc.

Also here, under the witness of the Prime Ministers of the two countries, ministries, branches, localities, and business units of the two countries exchanged cooperation documents in the following fields: developing industrial parks in Vietnamese localities; promoting innovation, digital transformation and industrial development; supporting promotion, digital transformation, promoting Vietnamese tourism; promoting biofuel development in Vietnam; building an open innovation platform integrated throughout the entire agricultural - food value chain in Vietnam and Singapore according to international standards...

Previously, after the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong witnessed the handover of important cooperation documents between the two countries, including: Letter of Intent on cooperation in building an action program to implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 2025-2030 period between the two countries' Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Letter of Intent on enhancing cross-border electricity trade cooperation towards the ASEAN power grid between the two countries' Ministries of Industry and Trade; Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of digital development and innovation between the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information of Singapore; Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation to deploy bilateral retail payments via QR codes between Vietnam and Singapore; Extension of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Vietnam Friendship Association and the Singapore International Foundation.