Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s participation in the 46th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-46) in Malaysia will provide an opportunity for Vietnam to reaffirm its role and contributions and promote cooperation with member parliaments, thus promoting the building of a resilient ASEAN Community, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Anh Tuan has said.
Speaking to the press ahead of the top legislator’s trip to Malaysia from September 16-20 to attend AIPA-46 and pay an official visit, Tuan highlighted the significance of the trip.
As ASEAN and Vietnam enter a new stage of development, the country will actively work with other member states to comprehensively and effectively implement the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and its strategic plans, concentrating on harnessing new drivers of growth such as science and technology, innovation, digital economy, and green transition, thereby fostering inclusive and sustainable development in the region, in line with this year’s ASEAN and AIPA theme, he said.
At AIPA-46, Vietnam will actively engage and put forward proposals and initiatives to further strengthen regional cooperation, and the role and contribution of parliamentary diplomacy, he said, stressing that these include recommendations to boost AIPA collaboration in key priority areas such as cybersecurity, economy and digital transformation, intra-bloc trade, sustainable development, and more effective cooperation with external partners, he said.
Vietnam will share its experience in law-making and parliamentary supervision to help promote inclusive and sustainable growth, ensuring that all citizens benefit from development achievements and no one is left behind, the official said.
Vietnam will work with other countries to discuss orientations and measures to strengthen parliamentary cooperation, focusing on leveraging parliamentary diplomacy to address regional issues, safeguard peace and stability, and further deepen relations and exchanges among peoples, he went on.
Regarding bilateral cooperation, this is the first official visit to Malaysia by a Vietnamese NA Chairperson since the two countries elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in November 2024, the Deputy FM said, noting that the visit is expected to foster bilateral legislative ties in a more substantive and effective manner, contributing to creating a legal framework that enables the two governments and business communities to strengthen collaboration.
The Vietnamese top legislator’s trip also vividly demonstrates Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, and multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations, with priority given to Southeast Asia and ASEAN, including Malaysia – the ASEAN Chair in 2025.
It also reaffirms Vietnam’s commitment to working with Malaysia and other ASEAN members to build a “sustainable and inclusive” ASEAN Community, and strengthens the bloc’s central role in the regional architecture, he said.
Vietnam and Malaysia are enjoying a period of exceptionally strong relations, said Tuan, noting that they upgraded bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in November 2024 during Party General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Malaysia. This upgrade has opened new avenues for cooperation in the areas aligned with global trends, particularly digital transformation and sustainable development.
The two countries are now engaging more extensively across politics, economy, defence, security, culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges, he noted.
According to the official, in politics, security, and defence, the two sides have stepped up mutual visits at all levels. Maritime cooperation has seen notable progress, highlighted by the signing of a new memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation in December 2023 after five years of negotiations. The countries have also expanded collaboration the fields matching their potential and strengths such as training, defence technology transfer, and in fulfilling the multilateral treaties on crime prevention to which both are parties.
Economic, trade, and investment cooperation remains a bright spot. Malaysia is Vietnam’s third-largest trading partner in ASEAN and ninth worldwide. Bilateral trade turnover reached 14.2 billion USD in 2024, up 12% from the previous year, and surpassed 9.23 billion USD by the end of July 2025, up 8% year-on-year, moving closer to the shared goal of 18 billion USD. Meanwhile, it also ranks among the top 10 foreign investors in Vietnam, with registered capital totalling 13 billion USD, Tuan noted.
He went on to say that parliamentary cooperation is a crucial channel to reinforce strategic trust. It not only serves as an important political and legal dialogue channel but also promotes exchanges between young parliamentarians and the sharing of legislative experience, thereby further energising economic, investment, and people-to-people ties.
The Deputy FM expressed confidence that the upcoming official visit by NA Chairman Man will help to further strengthen political trust, deepen the existing areas of cooperation, and set out concrete pathways for implementing the comprehensive strategic partnership.
Importantly, he stressed, the visit will also bolster parliamentary cooperation, cementing its role as a solid political – legal bridge and contributing substantively to bilateral ties./.
