The 19-12 (December 19) book street in downtown Hanoi on Friday afternoon became more crowded than usual thanks to the visit of two Vietnamese and Malaysian prime ministers and their spouses, who came to explore book stalls and savor street view coffee together.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse came to the rendezvous first to welcome their two special guests.

When Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his spouse arrived at the place, they received a warm reception from the Vietnam side.

The two top officials and their spouses strolled along the book street, located in Hoan Kiem District, and discussed issues of mutual concern.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s spouse Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Binti Wan Ismail (L, 1st) laughed and thanked PM Chinh (R, 1st) for using a hand fan to cool down her and his spouse (R, 2nd). Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

They stopped by a book stall run by Vietnam Women’s Publishing House and picked some books about Vietnamese history and traditions written in English.

Books about female role models, gastronomy, and culture are of particular interest to the spouses.

Open to the public in May 2017, the 19-12 book street houses lots of book stalls run by prestigious book publishing houses and companies in Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

PM Chinh and his spouse, Le Thi Bich Tran, bought some bilingual books to gift PM Ibrahim and his spouse Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Binti Wan Ismail, including ‘Phụ nữ Việt Nam những khoảnh khắc’ (Vietnamese Women Extraordinary Moments in History) written by the Vietnam Women’s Union; ‘Con gái Bà Triệu thế kỷ 21: Chuyện về những người phụ nữ Việt Nam’ (The 21st Century's Daughter of Lady Trieu: Tales of Vietnamese Women); ‘Đường xa’ (Distant Road) which features selected poems of Vietnamese author Nguyen Duy; and a book on culinary delights of Hue, a central city in Vietnam.

Then, they visited a book stall run by Kim Dong Publishing House where they were briefed on several books such as ‘Vietnamese History in Pictures’, ‘Diary of A Cricket’, and ‘Speeches That Changed Our Times: From 1945 to the Present’.

PM Chinh purchased these three books to present to his Malaysian counterpart.

The two government leaders and their spouses also talked to a group of elementary students gathering outside the Kim Dong Publishing House book stall.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim shakes hands with a Vietnamese student at the 19-12 book street in Hanoi, July 21, 2023. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Having sauntered through some book stalls for a while, the top officials and their spouses visited a terrace cafe at the book street where they enjoyed Vietnamese coffee and sweet cakes.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s spouse Le Thi Bich Tran (R, 1st) is seen briefing Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s spouse Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Binti Wan Ismail (R, 3rd) on a bag made of water hyacinth, bamboo, and Vietnamese brocade. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

PM Chinh also gifted his Malaysian counterpart a pack of homegrown coffee.

PM Chinh gifts PM Ibrahim a pack of Vietnamese coffee. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

During their coffee talks, PM Chinh signed and presented the English versions of some books about Vietnam’s late President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese culture, in addition to a book written by Vietnam’s Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong about socialism, to PM Ibrahim.

PM Chinh (R) presents a book about Vietnam’s late President Ho Chi Minh to PM Ibrahim (L). Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

To repay the warm welcome, PM Ibrahim presented ‘Malaysia Madani’, a book written by the Malaysian PM about goals to develop Malaysia under his administration, to PM Chinh.

'Malaysia Madani' is a policy framework and government slogan introduced by PM Ibrahim, the 10th prime minister of Malaysia. 

MADANI is the Malay acronym for SCRIPT, which stands for sustainability, care and compassion, respect, innovation, prosperity, and trust.

To repay the warm welcome, PM Ibrahim presented ‘Malaysia Madani’, a book written by the Malaysian PM about goals to develop Malaysia under his administration, to PM Chinh. In this photo, PM Ibrahim is explaining the meaning of the book’s title. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The visit to the book street was part of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s two-day visit to Vietnam from Thursday to Friday at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh.

PM Chinh scans a bank card to pay for drinks at a terrace cafe at the 19-12 book street in Hanoi, July 21, 2023. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (R) shakes hands with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh (L) for his warm reception for the top Malaysian official during his two-day visit to Vietnam from Thursday to Friday. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Before leaving, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim invited Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse to visit Malaysia on the nearest day. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

During the visit, PM Ibrahim held talks with top Vietnamese officials including PM Chinh, Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Vo Van Thuong, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, in addition to attending sideline events.

Malaysia is Vietnam’s second-largest trade partner in ASEAN and ninth-largest in the world, with bilateral trade reaching US$14.8 billion last year.

Malaysia operates 718 valid FDI projects with a total pledged capital of nearly $13 billion in Vietnam, making it among the top 10 investors in the country.

The two nations also saw their cooperation in education, labor, tourism, and aviation thriving over time.

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