Malaysian PM to pay official visit to Vietnam this week
Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 10:56 GMT+7
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his spouse will visit Vietnam from Thursday to Friday this week, marking his first state visit to the country since assuming power in December last year.
The visit will be made at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.
The Malaysian PM’s visit takes place at a time when the two nations are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations (1973 - 2023).
In related news, Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir will pay an official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son to co-chair the seventh Joint Commission Meeting on Economic, Scientific, and Technological Cooperation between Vietnam and Malaysia, scheduled to take place from Wednesday to Thursday.
Malaysia is Vietnam’s second-largest trade partner in ASEAN and ninth-largest in the world, with two-way trade reaching US$14.8 billion last year.
Malaysia is also among the top 10 investors in Vietnam, with 718 valid projects and a total pledged capital of nearly $13 billion.
In early May this year, PM Chinh met with his Malaysian counterpart during their trips to Indonesia to attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit, which was held between May 9 and 11 in Labuan Bajo.
PM Ibrahim at that time affirmed that Vietnam is an important trade partner of Malaysia in the region.
He wished to pay an official visit to Vietnam soon and pledged to facilitate efforts to boost cooperation relations between the two countries.
The top Malaysian official also said he was looking forward to Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong’s Malaysia visit slated for late 2023.
Further, the head of the Malaysian government agreed to consider setting up a hotline to address issues arising in the waters of the two countries.
Previously, PM Chinh suggested Malaysia develop a mechanism for sea consultation and management with Vietnam.
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