Singapore holds a pivotal strategic position and has significant influence in Southeast Asia and ASEAN. In recent years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s Government, Singapore has sustained robust economic growth, focused on developing science, technology, and the green economy, ensured food security and energy security, and substantially strengthened national competitiveness. The Government of Singapore has implemented a comprehensive range of policies to support businesses and workers, including retraining programmes to improve skills and assist with job searches, increasing social support, and continuing to strengthen the “social safety net”. In 2025, Singapore’s GDP growth reached 4.8%, higher than the 4.4% recorded in 2024.

Singapore’s economic policies in the coming period will continue to focus on containing inflation, avoiding recession, diversifying supply sources, investing in science, technology, and the green economy, and attracting talent, with the aim of meeting 30% of domestic food demand by 2030. The Government of Singapore has set a target of importing 4 GW of clean electricity from countries in the region by 2035, accounting for 30% of Singapore’s total electricity supply, thereby contributing to its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Singapore conducts its foreign policy firmly rooted in the principles of independence and self-reliance, prioritising economic development and placing strong emphasis on relations with ASEAN countries as well as the ASEAN’s central role. It continues to maintain the momentum of relations with neighbouring countries, and supports the building of an international order based on international law, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the multilateral trading system.

Singapore is actively enhancing its role and position on the international arena. As a founding member of ASEAN, Singapore is increasingly playing a dynamic role in building a united, cooperative, and developing Association. Singapore joined the United Nations in 1965 and served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2001–2002 term. It was a founding member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, initiated the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) process in 1996, proposed the establishment of the Asia–Europe Foundation (ASEF) and hosts its headquarters, and has actively promoted the initiative to establish the Forum for East Asia–Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC). In addition, Singapore is a member of the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Singapore is Viet Nam’s fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN, after Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, and its 14th-largest in the world. Viet Nam is Singapore’s fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN and its 11th-largest in the world. In 2025, bilateral trade reached 10.69 billion USD, up 12.5% from 2024, of which Viet Nam’s exports stood at 5.28 billion USD, up 10.7%, while imports reached 5.41 billion USD, up 14.3%. In the first three months of 2026, Viet Nam’s total import-export turnover with Singapore was estimated at 3.6 billion USD, up 29.3% year on year. Of this, Viet Nam’s exports to Singapore reached 1.4 billion USD, up 5.7%, while imports from Singapore reached 2.2 billion USD, up 51.5%. Viet Nam’s trade deficit with Singapore was estimated at 764.3 million USD.

Singapore is the second-largest investor in Viet Nam, with more than 4,500 valid projects and total registered capital of 97 billion USD, spanning many fields such as processing and manufacturing, logistics, finance and high technology. The network of 28 Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Viet Nam is a symbol of successful cooperation between the two countries. Another important highlight is cooperation in emerging fields. Singapore is a leading ASEAN country in artificial intelligence (AI), innovation and high-quality human resource development. On that foundation, the two countries are strengthening cooperation in technology connectivity, clean energy, green finance, data centres and semiconductor technology.

Cooperation in education and human resource training is also a bright spot in bilateral relations. The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on education cooperation in August 2023, established twinning ties between training institutions, provided each other with many scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate training, and exchanged many delegations of officials, lecturers, pupils and students from the two countries. In defence and security, the two sides maintain high-level delegation exchanges and existing annual dialogue and cooperation mechanisms. In 2022, they signed an agreement between the two Governments on bilateral defence cooperation. In transport, Singapore is one of the aviation markets of special importance to Viet Nam.

Tourism cooperation has been given due attention. The two sides signed the Agreement on Tourism Cooperation (August 1994) and the Memorandum of Understanding on Cruise Tourism Cooperation (April 2015). Singapore is an important market, ranking among the top 15 source markets for Viet Nam, while Viet Nam ranks among the top 10 tourist markets for Singapore. In the first 10 months of 2025, the number of Singaporean visitors to Viet Nam reached 300,693, up 13% year-on-year; the number of Vietnamese visitors to Singapore reached 249,860 in the first eight months of 2025. Cooperation in other areas such as finance-banking, natural resources-environment, and law-justice between the two countries has continued to be strengthened. The two countries signed a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters in October 2024.

Alongside bilateral relations, cooperation between the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the PAP has developed positively and become increasingly substantive, with cadre training and development being an important area of cooperation, contributing to improving the quality of human resources serving the development goals of each country. In order to continue implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, and the diversification and multilateralisation of relations set out by the 14th National Party Congress, contributing to creating a peaceful and stable environment, expanding development space and mobilising resources to successfully realise the country’s development goals, the visit by Tran Cam Tu to Singapore aims to further deepen relations between the two ruling parties, create a firm political foundation, promote comprehensive cooperation through the Party, State and people-to-people channels, and contribute to bringing the Viet Nam-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into greater depth and effectiveness.

The Strategic Dialogue has become a direct, regular and substantive channel for exchanging experience in Party building, policy formulation, governance and national development, as well as other strategic issues of mutual concern to the two Parties and the two countries. The first Strategic Dialogue will help the two sides identify new areas of cooperation, going beyond traditional fields such as trade, investment, education and defence-security. Singapore is making a strong shift towards an economy based on AI, innovation and high-quality human resources, while Viet Nam has set a target of high growth and is promoting science-technology, innovation and digital transformation. Therefore, Viet Nam-Singapore cooperation in the coming period could move from “Singapore investing in Viet Nam” towards a deeper model of jointly conducting research, jointly innovating, jointly developing technology and jointly participating in regional and global value chains. At this Dialogue, the two sides will conduct extensive discussions on strategic issues of mutual concern and key areas of cooperation between the two Parties and the two countries in the coming period, including technological connectivity and cooperation in human resource training.

The first-ever organisation of the Viet Nam-Singapore Strategic Dialogue by the two countries carries significance beyond the framework of bilateral relations, making a practical contribution to ASEAN solidarity, unity and centrality. Against the backdrop of major-power competition and emerging challenges in the economy, technology, security and supply chains, coordination between Viet Nam and Singapore, two dynamic economies playing an active role in ASEAN, can create additional momentum for intra-bloc cooperation. The two countries can also jointly promote initiatives on economic connectivity, digital transformation, the green economy and enhancing ASEAN’s adaptive capacity. Close coordination between Viet Nam and Singapore contributes to enabling ASEAN to maintain unity, uphold its centrality and remain a reliable partner with a voice and the capacity to shape the region’s strategic environment.

Key milestones in Viet Nam-Singapore relations reflect a new qualitative development in ties between the two Parties, while creating an additional political foundation and momentum to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Permanent member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu’s official visit to Singapore demonstrates the determination of both sides to translate shared understandings and high-level agreements into practice. It is also an important diplomatic engagement that will strengthen trust and bonds between the two countries’ senior leaders, promote fruitful Viet Nam-Singapore cooperation, and effectively implement the high-level strategic dialogue mechanism between the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the PAP.