Workers process tra fish for export at Go Dang Seafood JSC in southern Tien Giang province (Photo: VNS/VNA)The Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) will open a representative office in Hanoi latter this year to embrace economic links with Vietnam.
Minister Mustapa Mohamed made the announcement to reporters after his attendance at a dialogue with members of the ASEAN Business Club (ABC) in Kuala Lumpur on August 8.
The move is expected to support operations of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE)’s office in the capital city of Vietnam, he said, adding that it also illustrates Malaysia’s treasured friendship with its neighbour.
The MITI opened representative offices in Singapore, Indonesia, India, Thailand and the US, he revealed.
In his speech at the dialogue with ABC members, Minister Mustapa Mohamed said he sees enormous economic potential between Malaysia and Vietnam with bilateral trade recording two-digit growth over the past decade.
Vietnam and Malaysia reached specific agreements to increase cooperation across fields such as in oil and gas, liquefied petroleum gas, energy, finance-banking, agro-forestry-fisheries processing and food.
The two countries agreed to increase trade to at least 15 billion USD in 2020. Trade is expected to reach 10 billion USD this year.
Malaysia is one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It is the 8th biggest investor of Vietnam with foreign direct investment worth 11 billion USD.-VNA
