Toast by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the International Conference Centre, Hanoi

Your Excellency Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of my wife and my delegation, I thank Your Excellency for your warm welcome and gracious hospitality. It is always a pleasure to visit Vietnam and to meet Prime Minister Dung. I am glad to have worked with Prime Minister Dung for many years, since before we became Prime Ministers, to strengthen Singapore-Vietnam relations.

This year is a very significant one in our bilateral relations. We celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations, and we are elevating our ties to a Strategic Partnership. This Strategic Partnership reflects the depth and breadth of our friendship, and our commitment to enhance our relationship further in the years to come.

Singapore-Vietnam relations go back a long way, even before our countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1973. President Ho Chi Minh visited Singapore in 1930 and 1933 during his trips around the region to rally support for Vietnam’s independence. Today, a statue of President Ho sits proudly outside the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, to commemorate his historic visits to our country.

Our people-to-people ties are growing rapidly. Many Singaporeans visit Vietnam to enjoy its beautiful scenery, its rich culture, its delicious pho. Singapore is happy to host many Vietnamese too. We have a vibrant Vietnamese community. Many Vietnamese students study in our schools and universities. Quite a few have done well and have become close friends with their Singaporean classmates.

Our cultural relations are also growing. An exhibition on Singapore culture and heritage by the Singapore Philatelic Museum has just ended at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in Hanoi and I am glad that the commemorative stamp issue that we just launched will now be part of the Philatelic Museum’s collection. Our National Art Gallery, which will open in 2 years' time, will feature works by famous Vietnamese artists such as Nguyen Gia Tri and Nguyen Phan Chanh. I also look forward to the joint performance by our military bands tomorrow. These exchanges help our peoples appreciate each other’s cultures and heritage.

One important pillar of our bilateral ties is our strong economic relations. Trade has tripled over the past decade to almost US$12 billion in 2012, making Singapore Vietnam’s seventh largest trading partner. Singapore is also Vietnam’s second largest investor, with more than US$28 billion of total investments.

The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) anchor our excellent economic ties. We began with one VSIP in Binh Duong in 1996. Now we have four successful VSIPs and three years ago, Prime Minister Dung and I attended the ground-breaking ceremony of VSIP Hai Phong which is Prime Minister Dung’s own constituency. I am glad that the Hai Phong project is doing well, and I look forward to breaking ground at the 5th VSIP in Quang Ngai province with the Prime Minister this Friday. This will be the first VSIP in Central Vietnam, which shows the vast potential for cooperation beyond the major cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong.

Besides our bilateral cooperation, Singapore and Vietnam also work closely together on international issues. We share an interest in a stable and peaceful Southeast Asia, which allows all countries to prosper in peace. We are building a more cohesive and integrated ASEAN, which enjoys healthy relations with all its major partners. We are also participating in negotiations to form the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The TPP and RCEP are possible pathways to a free trade area of the Asia Pacific.

Prime Minister, guests, the close ties between Singapore and Vietnam took years of hard work and mutual trust building. I deeply appreciate Your Excellency’s personal efforts to strengthen our bilateral friendship and I look forward to continue working with you and your government to take our Strategic Partnership forward.

Distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen, may I now invite you to rise with me and join me in a toast: To the good health and continued success of His Excellency Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; to the peace, progress and prosperity of the people of Vietnam; and to the enduring friendship between Singapore and Vietnam.