Việt Nam seeks to strengthen security partnership with Singapore

Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Duy Ngoc (L), member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Minister of Public Security meets with Singapore’s Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan. VNA Photo

SINGAPORE– Lieut. Gen. Nguyễn Duy Ngọc, member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Minister of Public Security paid a courtesy call to Singapore’s Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan on February 25.

Ngọc held that the Việt Nam-Singapore strategic partnership was growing with stronger political trust and fruitful cooperation across all fields, noting that both sides had maintained high-level consultations and supported each other at regional and international forums.

Both sides had shared a common view on the significance of maintaining peace, stability, maritime and aviation security, safety and freedom in the East Sea as well as the settlement of disputes through peaceful measures in line with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, Ngọc said.

For his part, Tan expressed delight at the increasingly close and effective collaboration between the two countries in general and between the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore and Việt Nam’s Ministry of Public Security in particular. He said he believed that the Vietnamese delegation’s visit would help strengthen and diversify the friendship and partnership between the two countries.

The same day, Deputy Minister Ngọc had a working session with Commander of Singapore Police Force Hoong Wee Teck, during which Ngọc expressed his pleasure at the fruitful cooperation between the two countries in criminal combat and social order and safety protection.

The Vietnamese police force has actively and efficiently implemented cooperation contents with the Singapore Police Force in law enforcement and criminal combat through the diplomatic channels and Interpol, which is evidence of the sound strategic partnership between the two countries and two ministries, and reflects common commitments in working together in preventing and fighting trans-national criminals.

As part of their Singapore tour as the entourage of President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, the deputy minister also visited and worked with a number of State agencies of Singapore, including the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) and Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.

Ngọc shared Việt Nam’s experience in the building of e-government and efforts towards a digital government, digital economy and digital society.

In the process of studying digital identity models in countries around the world, the Ministry of Public Security of Việt Nam found that the development direction of Singapore’s identity model was similar to the model of electronic identification and authentication of Việt Nam, he said.

Ngọc also informed the host that Việt Nam was implementing many contents related to the application of science and technology in the management of immigration, population, and foreigners living in Việt Nam. The Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security of Việt Nam was taking steps to modernise itself and apply advanced technologies to integrate population data into the issuance of passports for citizens, he said, expressing hope to learn from Singapore’s experience in the work. VNA/VnExpress News