KUALA LUMPUR: Vietnam’s National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh had a meeting with Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on Wednesday (Aug 7) during a working visit to Malaysia for four days from Aug 6, 2024.
Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported that Dinh expressed his gratitude to the Malaysian government and the Deputy Prime Minister for attending the recent state funeral of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, Nguyen Phu Trong.
During the meeting he expressed his satisfaction with the thriving development of bilateral relations across various sectors, suggesting Malaysia prioritise the implementation of agreed-upon initiatives, expedite negotiations, and finalise key agreements in areas such as defence, security, and education.
These efforts, he noted, would lay a solid foundation for broader cooperation between the two nations and further enhance the Vietnam-Malaysia Strategic Partnership.
Dinh called on both sides to collaborate in raising bilateral trade turnover to US$18 billion in a balanced and sustainable manner.
He emphasised the importance of facilitating import and export activities, minimising trade barriers, and accelerating efforts to finalise a cooperation agreement in the Halal food sector soon.
The Vice Chairman also underlined the need to enhance understanding and solidarity between the people of both countries through promoting cooperation programmes on human resources training and development in the fields where both sides have strength and create favourable conditions for citizens of each country.
On the Malaysian side, Fadillah agreed with the Vietnamese legislator's proposals for strengthening bilateral relations, including those between the two countries' parliaments.
He suggested that the legislatures deepen cooperation and exchanges among their members, and also called for enhanced collaboration between the respective ministries, sectors, and localities of both nations.
Fadilah said there remains great potential for both countries to cooperate in the halal food sector, and Vietnam should establish an agency for halal food, which could refer to Malaysia's standards, models, and production processes of Halal food.
He also affirmed that Malaysia's Halal food promotion agency is ready to share experiences and send experts to support Vietnam in this field.
He noted that with Vietnam's great potential for developing green energy, the two countries can expand bilateral cooperation as well as partnership within Asean, following the cooperation models of the European Union’s (EU) member countries.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Putrajaya Holdings Senior Manager, Noor Izlina Idris, welcomed the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation.
During the meeting, the Vice Chairman praised the strong relationship between Malaysia and Vietnam in recent years.
Dinh acknowledged the successful cooperation between Putrajaya Holdings and its Vietnamese partners and expressed a desire to further explore investment opportunities and specific collaborative activities with Vietnamese firms, particularly in urban development.
He also expressed his admiration for Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative city developed by Putrajaya Holdings, and welcomed the company’s efforts to strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese partners in urban planning, noting that Vietnam is interested in implementing a similar model.
Vietnam is Malaysia's only strategic partner in Asean, while Malaysia is Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner within the bloc and 11th globally.
The two countries closely collaborate in regional and international forums such as Asean, the United Nations (UN), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec).
The relationship between the two countries’ legislative bodies continues to be strengthened both bilaterally and multilaterally, contributing to the promotion of overall bilateral relations.
In March 2023, Vietnam and Malaysia jointly celebrated the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. - Bernama-VNA
