According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, at the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the visit of the Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives and emphasized the important significance of the visit in the context that the two countries have just celebrated the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (1973-2023) and are looking forward to celebrating the 10th anniversary of establishing the Strategic Partnership (2015-2025).
Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives Tan Sri Dato’ Johari bin Abdul highly appreciated the results of the talks with National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the meeting with General Secretary To Lam, with very practical and important contents to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in all fields.
The two leaders expressed their satisfaction with the positive development in cooperation between the two countries in recent times. Political and diplomatic cooperation has been increasingly strengthened through maintaining contacts and exchanges of delegations at high and all levels; sharing similar views on many regional and international issues; closely coordinating and supporting each other at multilateral mechanisms, especially ASEAN, the United Nations, etc. Cooperation in various fields has developed more comprehensively and deeply, especially in the field of trade and investment with many impressive results; Malaysia is currently Vietnam's second largest trade partner in ASEAN and the third largest ASEAN investor in Vietnam. Defense and security cooperation, including maritime cooperation, has achieved many positive results.
The two sides agreed on important cooperation directions in the coming time to bring the bilateral relationship to a new height. The Prime Minister suggested that the two countries continue to strengthen political trust through increasing the exchange of high-level delegations, at all levels and through all channels; strive to bring the bilateral trade turnover to 18 billion USD in a balanced direction; facilitate the import and export of goods with potential and strengths of both sides; encourage enterprises of each country to expand investment in the other country's market and participate more deeply in the value chain, digital transformation and sustainable business, especially in new areas such as digital economy, green economy, energy transformation; and ask Malaysia to support Vietnam in developing the Halal industry and soon sign a cooperation document in this field. The Prime Minister also asked Malaysia to support Vietnam in removing the EU's yellow card for the Vietnamese seafood industry; and continue to coordinate effectively in the repatriation and humane treatment of detained Vietnamese fishermen.
Emphasizing the important role of Malaysia as Chair of ASEAN/AIPA 2025, the Speaker of the House of Representatives hoped that Malaysia and Vietnam, together with other ASEAN countries, would promote the strength and potential of each country as well as the strength of the ASEAN community of nearly 680 million people, promoting the prosperous development of each country, contributing to building a united and self-reliant ASEAN community, and promoting its central role in regional issues. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam will actively support Malaysia in successfully assuming the role of Chair of ASEAN 2025.
