Malaysia, Vietnam to deepen cooperation across sectors

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Vietnam have agreed to further cooperate across multiple sectors, including defence, marine, digital and energy, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

Anwar said the collaboration will also leverage the ASEAN Energy Grid to foster regional growth.

“The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam been very forthcoming and supportive (and) so are the leaders in Vietnam.

“Therefore we will make sure that we will facilitate the collaboration in all fields namely defence, marine, digital and energy using the ASEAN Energy Grid,” he said in a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting between the two leaders at Perdana Putra Building here today.

Earlier, Anwar and Lam witnessed the exchange of the memorandum of understanding on enhancing trade promotion between the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE); and the memorandum of collaboration between Petronas and PetroVietnam.

Describing Lam’s visit as a meaningful one, Anwar who is also Finance Minister, said it enables both countries to enhance bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Anwar said Kuala Lumpur is also set to host the 8th Malaysia-Vietnam Joint Commission Meeting early next year, that will be co-chaired by both foreign ministers.

Additionally, he said the two countries also agreed to explore the possibilities of having joint efforts in the fishing industry, given the success of the joint development authority between the two nations.

Lam, accompanied by his spouse, Ngo Phuong Ly and his delegation, landed at Kompleks Bunga Raya, Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 11.15 am today.

He was then accorded an official welcome at Dataran Perdana here.

This is his inaugural visit to Malaysia since being elected as head of the Communist Party of Vietnam in August this year.

Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, said this official visit will further strengthen the close relations between Malaysia and Vietnam, both bilaterally under the framework of the Strategic Partnership and within ASEAN.

In 2023, Vietnam ranked as Malaysia’s 11th largest trading partner globally and 4th largest partner within ASEAN.

The value of bilateral trade between Malaysia and Vietnam stood at RM80 billion, with exports from Malaysia to Vietnam valued at RM52 billion.

Malaysian companies have implemented more than 700 projects in Vietnam, with investments totaling US$13.1 billion.