Nghe An Provincial Party Secretary receives Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam

Also attending were comrades: Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Bui Dinh Long - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and leaders of a number of departments, branches and sectors.

In 2023, Vietnam and Singapore celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership. Over nearly half a century, the relationship between Vietnam and Singapore has become increasingly close, with high trust and cooperation between the two countries achieving many positive results. The two countries have good political relations, cooperation is constantly expanding, becoming more and more in-depth, practical and effective, especially in the fields of investment attraction and trade.

On behalf of the provincial leaders, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy presented flowers to welcome Mr. Jaya Ratnam - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Singapore to Vietnam to visit and work in Nghe An. Photo: Thanh Duy

The province currently has 6 valid foreign direct investment (FDI) projects of Singaporean enterprises with a total registered capital of more than 301.68 million USD. Nghe An's total export turnover in 2022 is estimated at 2.49 billion USD; of which, exports to the Singapore market reached more than 29 million USD with main items including: Textiles, cement, corrugated iron, steel, textile fibers and yarns, various types of stones, clinker cement, etc.

On behalf of the provincial leaders, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy expressed his pleasure to welcome Mr. Jaya Ratnam and the delegation of the Singapore Embassy to visit and work in Nghe An. Reviewing the results of cooperation between Nghe An and Singapore, the Provincial Party Secretary highly appreciated Singapore's investment projects in Nghe An, especially the project of VSIP Nghe An Company Limited.

Panorama of the reception between Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy and provincial leaders with Mr. Jaya Ratnam - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Singapore to Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Duy

This is a model of industrial park, urban and service real estate development of the joint venture Sembcorp Group (Singapore) and Becamex IDC Corporation (Binh Duong province), a symbol of friendship and economic cooperation between the two governments of Vietnam and Singapore.

The total registered investment capital in VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park is 930.5 million USD. As of November 2022, 37 investors have leased land with an area of ​​229.49 hectares/total industrial land area for lease of 263.23 hectares (reaching an occupancy rate of 87%).

Continuing the effectiveness of the VSIP Nghe An I project, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy said that Nghe An province and VSIP are implementing investment procedures for the Tho Loc Industrial Park Infrastructure Construction and Business Project Phase 1 with a scale of 600 hectares and an investment capital of VND3,997 billion (VSIP Nghe An II). Currently, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has submitted the investment policy to the Prime Minister for approval.

Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy talks with Ambassador Jaya Ratnam. Photo: Thanh Duy

Sharing his good impressions when he was honored to accompany the delegation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his wife on an official visit to Singapore last February, the head of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee said that within the framework of the visit, at the Vietnam - Singapore Business Forum, Nghe An province and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Investment and Trade Cooperation to expand cooperation and investment opportunities in the coming time between the two sides.

Introducing an overview of the province's potential, as well as assessing that there is still a lot of room for cooperation between the two sides, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy affirmed: Nghe An always attaches importance to the friendly and cooperative relationship with Singaporean partners and always identifies the "Lion Island" as an important partner in the province's integration, cooperation and development strategy.

Mr. Jaya Ratnam talks with Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy. Photo: Thanh Duy

Thanking the Ambassador for his support and sharing with the province in the past time; at the same time, to promote the cooperative relationship between Nghe An and Singapore to become more in-depth, practical and effective, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy hopes that Mr. Jaya Ratnam will continue to support, help and assist the province to strengthen cooperation with Singaporean partners in investment and trade; at the same time, share experiences and cooperate in areas where Singapore has strengths such as renewable energy, digital transformation, especially education and healthcare.

Talking with the leaders of Nghe An province, Mr. Jaya Ratnam - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Singapore to Vietnam shared his good feelings and impressions about Nghe An; at the same time, he congratulated the socio-economic achievements that the province has achieved, especially in 2022, for the first time being in the top 10 provinces and cities attracting the most FDI in the country.

Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy presents a souvenir to Ambassador Jaya Ratnam. Photo: Thanh Duy

With sincere thanks to Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy for always supporting the development of cooperative relations between Singapore and Nghe An in particular, and between Singapore and Vietnam in general, Mr. Jaya Ratnam believes that the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between Singapore and Vietnam in 2023 will be an opportunity to develop the cooperative relationship between the two sides more and more effectively.

Delighted with the success of VSIP in investing in Nghe An, contributing to the development of the province, Ambassador Jaya Ratnam hoped that the VSIP Nghe An II project would soon complete the procedures to break ground for the construction of an industrial park in the direction of green, smart, sustainable development; thereby, the Ambassador also proposed the idea that at the time of the groundbreaking of VSIP Nghe An II, the two sides would coordinate to organize a forum on tourism and culture to promote and introduce Nghe An to Singaporean partners.

Ambassador Jaya Ratnam presents souvenirs to Nghe An Provincial People's Committee. Photo: Thanh Duy

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Singapore to Vietnam pledged to support and expand cooperative relations between the two sides, especially committed to accompanying the province in training, improving the quality and skills of officials, especially officials in the fields that Nghe An is interested in such as: Green economic development, sustainable development and digital transformation...

The Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee thanked Mr. Jaya Ratnam for his affection and appreciation for Nghe An; and agreed with the Ambassador's proposal to hold the forum in Nghe An. The head of the Provincial Party Committee suggested that the content of the forum should not only stop at the above-mentioned fields, but also expand to topics on green economy and global economy; thereby hoping that the Ambassador would help connect with Singaporean organizations and partners to implement the forum.

Leaders of Nghe An province and Ambassador Jaya Ratnam and the delegation took a souvenir photo. Photo: Thanh Duy

Along with that, in 2023, Nghe An province will organize a working delegation to Singapore to promote investment, trade and tourism. The head of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee hopes to receive the attention, help and presence of the Embassy, ​​especially the Ambassador, at these activities of the province.

Mr. Jaya Ratnam affirmed that the Singapore Embassy in Vietnam always strongly supports and is ready to contribute as a bridge to promote the cooperative relationship between Singapore and Nghe An.