Regional academics have described how the strategic vision of late Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew nurtured the relationship between Singapore and Vietnam, who are now special partners within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Associate Professor Alan Chong from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) is an expert in Singapore’s external affairs policies. He has explained to Vietnam News Agency correspondents how the country first looked for a special relationship with Vietnam after the Cold War had ended.

Lee Kuan Yew, who was already seeing Singapore developing rapidly, was invited to advise the Vietnamese government in designing a development master plan for the country, Chong said. This plan triggered the quick development in relations between the two nations; a process which is continuing today, as there is still room for cooperation growth in the fields of tourism, education, agriculture and biotechnology.