Vietnam and Singapore upgrade bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: Allen & Gledhill

27 March 2025

On 12 March 2025, Vietnam and Singapore announced an upgrade of their bilateral relationship to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (“CSP”) during an official visit by Vietnam General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, To Lam, to Singapore. General Secretary Lam and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong identified key areas in which their countries would boost cooperation. This CSP is Singapore's first such partnership with an ASEAN member state.

A CSP is a high-level formal agreement that fosters broad collaboration across key sectors between two or more parties. CSPs usually address common challenges and extend previous agreements to include new fields, creating more robust bilateral relations.

The leaders agreed to:

enhance cooperation in international peace, security, and stability through various means, including in relation to maintaining mutual support in combating cybercrimes, scams, and money laundering;
reinforce economic cooperation and foster collaboration in mutually beneficial areas in several ways such as actively and effectively implement the Framework Agreement on Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity upgraded in 2023, to support joint business projects such as the development of innovative and sustainable low-carbon Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks in Vietnam and support further collaboration in the capital market initiatives including stock market and depository receipt connectivity initiatives;
strengthen energy and green cooperation, specifically through effectively utilising the Green-Digital Economic Partnership concluded in 2023, and step up cooperation in energy connectivity and transmission, sustainability, infrastructure, digital and innovation for a common goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050; enhance exchanges on smart and sustainable cities; work together on the facilitation of regulatory approvals for cross-border electricity trading, starting with offshore wind electricity exports from Vietnam to Singapore; develop power transmission infrastructure as well as financing mechanisms as building blocks towards an ASEAN Power Grid; and collaborate on carbon credits aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement;
build capacity and connecting people through strengthened cooperation in talent development, especially for strategic-level officials, among other similar initiatives;
strengthen cooperation in digital domains and emerging technologies, specifically on digital connectivity, cross-border data flows including the establishment of data sandboxes, and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and cyber security; strengthen cooperation on subsea cables in the region such as through the development of the Enhanced ASEAN Guidelines on Strengthening Resilience and Repairs of Submarine Cables; promote consumer and business trust in the digital economy including fostering data-driven innovation; and encourage the responsible use and transmission of data through the adoption of regional guidelines and frameworks such as the ASEAN Model Contractual Clauses and the ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics; and
strengthen cooperation in international and regional fora including by actively coordinating and supporting one another in multilateral forums on issues of common interests and concern, especially in ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms, the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, inter-parliamentary forums; and promote ASEAN unity, centrality and efforts in further advancing the ASEAN community building process.

To implement the CSP, the two leaders assigned their Foreign Ministries to coordinate with relevant Ministries and agencies to develop a Plan of Action covering all the cooperation areas between the two countries.

Reference materials

The following materials are available on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore website www.mfa.gov.sg, the Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore website www.mti.gov.sg, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore website www.mas.gov.sg.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore