Vietnam keen on expanding labour cooperation with Singapore

Meeting Singaporean Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad in Hanoi on October 20, Thanh suggested that Singapore expand the number of industries that accept Vietnamese workers, and strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in transport ship crew supply.

The Vietnamese official highlighted the growing partnership between Vietnam and Singapore, noting that Singapore is Vietnam's leading investor among ASEAN countries and the second biggest in the world, with 3,095 projects worth 70.8 billion USD, accounting for 22.9% of total FDI in Vietnam.

He said the effective operation of Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) in many localities of Vietnam has helped promoted human resources cooperation between the two countries.

Mentioning the two MoUs signed between the two countries during Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to Vietnam in August, Thanh said that the deals are important steps forward in bilateral cooperation, especially in skill development and innovation.

The Deputy Minister proposed that the two sides soon establish a joint working group to discuss and implement activities realising the MoUs.

He said that Vietnam is building three national centres for high-quality vocational training and practice, and expressed his hope for Singapore's sharing of knowledge and experience, especially in the governance, management and training programmes of the centres.

Vietnam also wants to learn from Singapore's experience in building a system of labour market data, as well as in analysing and forecasting of career and employment trends, and improving the quality of employment services in the digital technology environment.

For his part, Zaqy Mohamad said that during this visit, he is bringing many Singaporean businesses to Vietnam to seek development opportunities and support Vietnam in areas of the country's interest.

He said he believes that the signing of the MoUs will open up more chances for labourers of the two sides to work in each other's country.

The Singaporean official affirmed that Singapore is willing to support and share experience with Vietnam, especially in high-quality human resources training and occupational safety and hygiene.