Speeches
Opening Remarks by Minister Chan Chun Sing at the Singapore-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue on 25 August 2026
25 August 2026
His Excellency Tran Cam Tu,
Distinguished members and guests from Vietnam,
A very warm welcome and good morning to all of you. I am pleased to officially welcome you to Singapore for the inaugural Singapore–Vietnam Strategic Dialogue.
Singapore-Vietnam relations
Singapore and Vietnam share a warm and longstanding friendship. It is a relationship built through successive generations of leaders who have invested in strengthening ties and building trust between our two countries.
This relationship has yielded mutually beneficial outcomes. Singapore is among Vietnam's top foreign investors. The Vietnam–Singapore Industrial Park, which started 30 years ago, are one of the most visible examples of what sustained cooperation can achieve. These efforts came from both sides taking a long-term perspective, building confidence, and working through issues together. We are also partners in areas such as supply chain resilience and food security. And our partnership has continued to evolve according to the needs of our countries and according to the times we are facing.
Our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reflects how far this relationship has come, and the high level of trust between our countries.
There are hydrangeas in the room decorations today. Each individual flower is modest but when they bloom in clusters, they create something striking. This is how I think about Singapore and Vietnam. We can build together and will be greater than what either of us can achieve alone.
Importance of the Singapore-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue
We established the Singapore-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue because our strong bilateral relations give us the foundations to look ahead together.
a. We intend for this to be a forward-looking platform where we can exchange perspectives candidly on emerging challenges, and identify areas where we can work together bilaterally and regionally.
b. We also want to build relationships between the next generation of Singapore and Vietnamese leaders. Many of the opportunities we discuss today will take time to materialise. The leaders in this room, and those who follow us, will need to continue working together.
c. I hope this Dialogue will develop into an enduring platform for these reasons.
Changing operating environment
Both our countries are operating in a more complex environment today. For decades, Singapore and Vietnam have benefited greatly from an open and rules-based international order, deep economic integration, and a stable regional environment. These conditions provided important tailwinds for our economies to grow and for our people to prosper.
Today, many of these conditions are weakening.
a. As small, open, trade-dependent economies, we feel the shifts in this environment acutely. Geopolitical competition is intensifying, and the boundaries between economic policy, technology policy, and national security are all blurring in ways that make the environment harder to navigate.
b. Supply chains and investment decisions are being shaped by strategic and security considerations, beyond commercial ones.
c. Within our societies, aspirations are becoming much more diverse. Younger generations have grown up in very different circumstances from their parents and grandparents. Their expectations of work, society, and Government will naturally be different.
d. At the same time, Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies offer tremendous opportunities for productivity and growth. But they are also changing our economies and societies, while creating new risks and divides.
These challenges will be experienced differently in Singapore and Vietnam. But the underlying questions are similar.
a. How do we continue to govern well in a more volatile and contested environment?
b. How do we prepare the next generation of leaders to do this in a much more complex environment.
Government quality and capability are key elements
Our view is that the quality and capability of Government will increasingly distinguish successful nations from the rest.
a. Strong institutions help countries anticipate change and adapt when external shocks occur.
b. Policy consistency, regulatory effectiveness, and the quality of the Public Service matter for economic competitiveness. Businesses consider these factors when deciding where to invest and where to build for the long term.
c. Governments also need the confidence and trust of their people. Public trust enables Governments to build consensus, mobilise society, and undertake difficult reforms in which benefits may only be apparent many years later.
How do we build these capabilities? Ultimately, institutions depend on their people. Singapore has invested deliberately in leadership as a strategic national capability.
Let me briefly share some aspects of our approach.
Leadership, values, and stewardship
First, we believe leadership must be anchored on the right values and a strong sense of stewardship.
a. The most difficult decisions in Government are seldom straightforward choices between right and wrong. More often, they involve competing priorities. We need to balance present needs against the interests of future generations, economic opportunities against risks, and diverse interests of different groups in society.
b. We place considerable emphasis on identifying and developing leaders with integrity, judgement, and the instinct to consider the long-term interests of our country.
At the same time, leaders must remain grounded and closely connected to the people they serve.
a. Our citizens today are better educated and better informed. Governments must continually update how we engage them. In Singapore, we have made engagement and partnership an important competency in our Public Service and a priority in our Public Service transformation.
b. Staying close to the ground also helps us understand how policies are experienced in practice and where aspirations are changing.
c. It also builds trust. And trust gives Governments the legitimacy and space to make difficult decisions and to think beyond the immediate.
We seek to develop what we call Pi-shaped leaders and leadership teams.
a. These are leaders with depth and expertise in one or two sectors, but also sufficient breadth to understand issues across sectors, work across organisational boundaries, and connect different perspectives.
b. This is increasingly important because of the many challenges Governments face today, and they do not fit neatly within a single Ministry. Good outcomes depend not only on having strong individuals with deep expertise, but also having officers who can marshal resources and collaborate across Government and with the private sector if need be.
But we are realistic. We do not expect every leader to possess the same depth and breadth in every area.
a. Collectively, the leadership team must have both sufficient depth and breadth to deal with issues that require them to take a wider perspective from the national interest front..
b. This thinking is reflected in how we organise leadership development in the Singapore Public Service.
We have two complementary leadership pathways
a. The Administrative Service develops a smaller cadre of leaders who take a broader Whole-of-Government perspective and are deployed across different parts of Government. We deliberately expose these officers to different domains and parts of Government over the course of their careers.
b. The Public Service Leadership Programme develops strong leaders with deep expertise within their respective sectors and domains.
c. Together, these systems seek to combine deep sectoral capability with the ability to integrate perspectives and work across Government.
My colleague, Minister of State Desmond Choo, will elaborate on Singapore's approach to leadership development, including how we identify and develop leaders and expose them to different experiences over the course of their careers.
I also hope this will be an area where Singapore and Vietnam can deepen our exchanges. Our personnel systems and national circumstances will naturally differ. But there is value in comparing how we identify and develop leaders, and in having officers participate in each other's leadership programmes.
Harnessing technology
Second, while values and leadership capabilities provide the foundation, leaders must also understand and harness the forces that are reshaping our economies and societies.
Understanding technology will be critical. Leaders do not need to be technologists, but they need sufficient technological understanding and judgement to
a. recognise opportunities;
b. understand the risks and trade-offs;
c. ask the right questions; and
d. make informed decisions about how technology should be deployed.
We see several roles for Governments.
a. First, Governments must lead digital transformation. We need to build digital capabilities across the Public Service and use technology, not simply to do things better, but also to do better things.
b. Second, Governments must create the conditions for innovation and growth. Businesses need the confidence and environment to experiment, adopt new technologies, improve productivity and create new sources of growth. Our governance and regulatory frameworks must manage risks without unnecessarily constraining innovation.
c. Third, we must build trust in the digital age. As we embrace technology, we must also embrace cybersecurity, understand how scams and misinformation come about, how to protect our citizens' data, and ensure that those who are less digitally able are not left behind. That is why we have a saying—digital first but not digital only.
d. Finally, there is an international dimension. To unlock the potential of AI, facilitate cross-border data flows, and integrate the digital economy, we need common approaches and greater interoperability where possible. This will create opportunities for our businesses, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises, and enable citizens to benefit from more seamless services.
Minister Josephine Teo will elaborate on Singapore's approach to technology and digital transformation, as well as the opportunities for us to work more closely together in these areas.
Conclusion
To conclude, Singapore and Vietnam share many common interests and challenges. Both our countries recognise that in an increasingly uncertain world, long-term success depends on regional stability and cooperation, capable governments, good investments in technology and innovation, and also in a cohesive society.
This Strategic Dialogue is a key platform to allow us to learn from one another, exchange perspectives, and identify practical areas for cooperation. It also allows us to build the relationships necessary to navigate future uncertainties together.
I hope this inaugural Dialogue will be the beginning of more sustained and meaningful exchanges between our two countries and our two Governments.
On that note, I wish everyone a successful Dialogue and I look forward to our discussions. Thank you.