LKYSPP and YST exchange MOUs with Vietnamese partners during NUS visit by Vietnam’s top leader
The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) and the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on leadership training and development during a visit to NUS by His Excellency Mr Tô Lâm, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam on 12 March 2025.
The MOU will deliver programmes to Vietnamese senior party cadres, government officials and senior civil servants, covering topics like good governance, digital transformation, green transition and public administration reforms.
The agreement was one of three initiatives announced by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye during Mr Lâm’s visit to LKYSPP, where the Vietnamese leader delivered a policy speech and participated in a dialogue session chaired by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Mr Teo Chee Hean.
In his speech at the event, Prof Tan emphasised NUS’ commitment to forging strong partnerships with institutions around the world to advance education, research and innovation across different ecosystems.
“Your visit today marks a major milestone in our university’s engagement with Vietnam. It will inspire our NUS community to take bold strides in deepening our engagement with Vietnam,” said Prof Tan to Mr Lâm, noting that NUS has many partnerships with Vietnamese institutions like the Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi University of Science and Technology.
The event was one of Mr Lâm’s various engagements during his official three-day visit to Singapore, during which both countries agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership – the highest diplomatic tier.
In an opening speech at the event, Mr Teo said Singapore and Vietnam aim to strengthen their strong bilateral ties, with enhanced partnerships in new and emerging areas as Vietnam continues its remarkable rise.
Having made visits to Vietnam over the past three decades, Mr Teo has personally witnessed its exponential growth. “In 1993, I had the honour of accompanying Mr Lee Kuan Yew – then Senior Minister – on his first official visit to Vietnam.” The 1993 visit “laid the foundation that continues to guide the strong relations between our two countries”, Mr Teo recounted, citing enduring collaborations such as the 20 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks across 14 provinces that have created over 320,000 jobs and attracted more than US$23 billion in foreign investment.
In his policy address titled “Vietnam’s Policy for Scientific and Technological Development, Innovation, and National Digital Transformation in a New Era: Opportunities for Vietnam–Singapore Cooperation”, Mr Lâm cited Singapore’s remarkable progress with its Smart Nation initiative, noting that Vietnam is also pursuing advancements in its government institutions, legislation and infrastructure development.
“We must adopt a new mindset in legislation to meet governance requirements and encourage innovation,” he said, calling NUS “a premier beacon of academic excellence and innovation in the region and the world”.
Collaborations in research, innovation and human capital development
Addressing an audience of more than 300, Mr Lâm shared how Vietnam intends to learn from Singapore’s expertise in science and technology to achieve its two goals: to become a modern industrial country by 2030 and a developed, high-income country by 2045.
Scientific innovation and digital transformation, he added, provide the “golden key” for Vietnam to avoid the middle-income trap and keep pace in an era of globalisation and economic integration.
Given the complementary strengths of both countries – Singapore’s managerial expertise and abundant capital, and Vietnam’s large workforce and market – scientific and technological cooperation will remain a key foundation of the Vietnam-Singapore partnership, said Mr Lâm.
To this end, he proposed strengthening collaboration in several areas, ranging from research to human capital development.
By stepping up joint research initiatives, both countries will open up opportunities for knowledge sharing and technology exchange. “This requires extensive collaboration among research institutes and universities of international standing in both countries, facilitating the exchange of experience and specialised resources,” he explained.
Human resource development and the acceleration of technology transfer are other areas where both sides can work together, with Singapore’s world-class education and research institutions sharing its educational model, specialised training programmes, and hands-on managerial expertise with Vietnam.
The session concluded with a question-and-answer dialogue moderated by Mr Teo, with Mr Lâm addressing various topics, including how ASEAN youth can adapt to a volatile world.
Mr Lam’s visit to LKYSPP was followed by an event later that evening at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST), where the Vietnamese delegation – joined by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat – was treated to a joint musical performance by the Vietnam National Academy of Music, Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra, and students from YST, who performed works by Vietnamese composers alongside well-known pieces from Western classical music repertoire.
In his welcome address, Professor Peter Tornquist, Dean of YST, said the performance was a celebration of the enduring friendship between Vietnam and Singapore and a reaffirmation of the shared commitment to deepening ties between both nations.
YST and the Vietnam National Academy of Music also signed an MOU on 13 March 2025. Apart from promoting joint research and development activities between both institutions, it will encourage exchanges among faculty, students and visiting artists, building on the growing collaboration between Singapore and Vietnam in music. The signing was witnessed by the Honourable Spouse Mdm Ngo Phuong Ly, who was present at the ceremony as Guest-of-Honour, along with other members of the delegation.
NUS is also set to expand the growing collaboration between Vietnam and Singapore with another initiative. A new start-up acceleration programme by NUS Enterprise called Univentures@BLOCK71 will help Vietnamese start-ups seize emerging opportunities and scale beyond local markets. The programme is supported by the Vietnam National Innovation Centre and Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, in partnership with Temasek Foundation.
