SINGAPORE: President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Friday (Oct 25) congratulated Mr Luong Cuong on his appointment as president of Vietnam.
The 67-year-old military general is Vietnam’s fourth president in the past three years, following a period of political upheaval. He replaced Mr To Lam, who became president in May after his two predecessors were ousted in an anti-graft fight.
In a letter, Mr Tharman extended his congratulations to Mr Cuong, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Friday.
Mr Tharman said: “The strategic partnership between Singapore and Vietnam has grown from strength to strength.”
Last year, Singapore and Vietnam commemorated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and 10 years of their strategic partnership.
“Our cooperation has continued to broaden and deepen across many sectors including trade and investment, security and defence, education, and human resource development,” Mr Tharman wrote.
Singapore and Vietnam have continued to strengthen their traditional areas of cooperation and have also grown their collaboration to include areas such as green energy, carbon credits, and the digital economy, he noted.
“We should continue to build on our strong cooperation and mutual trust, and work together at multilateral forums including ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations).”
Amid Singapore and Vietnam’s exploration of elevating ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Mr Tharman said that he looked forward to working closely with Mr Cuong “to take our friendship to greater heights”.
He also invited Mr Cuong to “make a state visit to Singapore at your earliest convenience”.
“I wish you every success in your new role as president.”
