Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Zambry Abdul Kadir (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hailed theongoing Vietnam visit by Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Zambry Abdul Kadir on the occasion of the 50th anniversaryof Vietnam-Malaysia diplomatic ties this year, during a reception in Hanoi onJuly 19.
PM Chinh welcomed the Malaysian Foreign Minister and his Vietnamesecounterpart to co-chair the seventh meeting of the Joint Commission forEconomic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation from July 19-20, contributing toreviewing the implementation of cooperation agreements between the twocountries and preparing for the official Vietnam visit by the Malaysian PrimeMinister and his spouse from July 20-21.
FM Zambry Abdul Kadir, for his part, affirmed that Malaysia alwaysvalues and wishes to further enhance multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, itssole strategic partner within ASEAN.
Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the two countries' achievements madein various areas, especially in economy, trade and investment. Malaysiais now Vietnam’s second largest trade partner in ASEAN and the ninth biggest inthe world. Two-way trade surpassed 14.8 billion USD last year, up 17.9% annually.Malaysia is also among the top 10 biggest investors in Vietnam, with 718 valid projectswith a total registered capital of 13 billion USD.
PM Chinh suggested both sidescontinue with effective cooperation in various fields under the Plan of Actionto Implement the Strategic Partnership for the 2021-2025 period, facilitate theexchange of delegations at high level and jointly hold celebrations for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties. He expressed his desire to achieve a balanced two-waytrade volume of 18 billion USD.
Vietnam will create favourable conditions forMalaysian firms to expand their operations in the country, he said.
He stressed that the two sides need to bolstercollaboration in other important areas such as national defence, security,maritime, education-training, sci-tech, labour, culture, sports, tourism, andpeople-to-people exchange, while expanding joint work in emerging fields such asdigital economy, circular economy, and green energy.
The host proposed Malaysia help Vietnam buildcapacity and develop Halal industry, as well as recognise Vietnam's efforts incombating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and support the EuropeanUnion’s removal of the IUU yellow card warning against Vietnam's fisheries industry.
At the reception (Photo: VNA)
The guest pledged that at the meeting of the commissionon July 20, both sides will review and propose directions for theimplementation of bilateral high-level agreements.
The upcoming Vietnam visit by Malaysian PM AnwarIbrahim will contribute to deepening bilateral strategic partnership in asubstantial manner, he stressed.
He also shared the view that both sides needto work closely together at global and regional forums, maintain the unity andcentral role of ASEAN, and contribute to peace, stability, cooperation anddevelopment in the region and the world./.
