In his opening speech, Vu Hai Ha, chairman of the National Assembly Committee for Foreign Affairs reviewed major milestones in Vietnam – Malaysia relations, saying bilateral cooperation has been strengthened over the years, especially after the two countries established their strategic partnership in 2015.
Cooperation in economy, trade and investment is both a pillar and a driving force for bilateral relations, stressed Ha, revealing Malaysia is currently Vietnam’s second largest trading partner in ASEAN.
Two-way trade turnover has continuously increased over the years despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching nearly US$15 billion last year, an increase of 17% year on year.
Malaysia is the second largest ASEAN investor in Vietnam, ranking 10th out of 140 countries and territories investing in the country, with a total capital of US$13 billion.
Notably, the official visit to Vietnam in July 2023 by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has marked an important milestone in the two countries’ strategic partnership.
The visit has helped consolidate the political foundation and created fresh impetus to strategic cooperation between the two countries in traditional fields such as politics, economy, defense and security, while expanding into new fields of cooperation, like digital economy, network security and response to non-traditional security challenges, said the Vietnamese official.
Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato’ Tan Yang stated that both Malaysia and Vietnam have treasured a warm and solid relationship, reinforced by their resolute commitment to strengthening bilateral relations for the benefit of their people and the region as a whole.
Malaysia highly appreciates Vietnam as an important partner, not only as a member of ASEAN in the region but also as a partner in the multilateral arena, said the diplomat.
He expressed his belief that with the strong resolve and efforts by both side, their relations would be furthered enhanced in the future.
Source: VOV