Enjoying a close relationship, Vietnam and Malaysia have had a lotof potential for mutual development, Vietnamese Ambassador to MalaysiaNguyen Hong Thao has said.
Speaking to KualaLumpur-based Vietnam News Agency correspondents on the year marking the40 th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2013, Thao noted thatMalaysia was the first Southeast Asian country to establish the tieswith Vietnam .
Malaysia was also the first nationto introduce Vietnam to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) in 1995, he said.
The two countries have alsoheld great potential in economic cooperation and are working together innegotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which, oncecompleted, will greatly benefit both.
Bilateraleducational and cultural ties have been progressing with the number ofVietnamese students attending Malaysian schools and universities on therise, he cited.
Two-way trade between the twocountries has increased 25 percent annually on average, jumping from 6.5billion USD in 2011 to 7.9 billion USD in 2012, according to thediplomat.
During President Truong Tan Sang’s 2011visit to Malaysia , the two sides committed to bringing the figure to10 billion USD in the 2015-2020 period, he said, adding that the targetmay be early reached.
Malaysia now ranks eighth inVietnam’s foreign investor line-up, with more than 400 projectstotalling over 10 billion USD. Meanwhile, Vietnamese investors areundertaking small-sized projects, especially in oil and gas, inMalaysia, he noted.
Besides cashew nut, coffee,pepper and aquatic products, rice can be Vietnam’s key export productto Malaysia – a market with demand for Vietnam likely reachingover one million tonne a year.
Malaysia mainlysupplies Vietnam with animal and vegetable oil, petrol, fertilizers,chemicals and seafood, while importing crude oil from the country forprocessing.
The current development speed would allowthe two countries to attain 12-15 billion USD in two-way trade in 2020,Ambassador Thao stressed.
The diplomat also expressed his strong belief that 2014 will see new progress in the two countries’ partnership.
Malaysia will assume the ASEAN Chair in 2015 when the association begins implementing its new Charter.-VNA
Speaking to KualaLumpur-based Vietnam News Agency correspondents on the year marking the40 th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2013, Thao noted thatMalaysia was the first Southeast Asian country to establish the tieswith Vietnam .
Malaysia was also the first nationto introduce Vietnam to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) in 1995, he said.
The two countries have alsoheld great potential in economic cooperation and are working together innegotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which, oncecompleted, will greatly benefit both.
Bilateraleducational and cultural ties have been progressing with the number ofVietnamese students attending Malaysian schools and universities on therise, he cited.
Two-way trade between the twocountries has increased 25 percent annually on average, jumping from 6.5billion USD in 2011 to 7.9 billion USD in 2012, according to thediplomat.
During President Truong Tan Sang’s 2011visit to Malaysia , the two sides committed to bringing the figure to10 billion USD in the 2015-2020 period, he said, adding that the targetmay be early reached.
Malaysia now ranks eighth inVietnam’s foreign investor line-up, with more than 400 projectstotalling over 10 billion USD. Meanwhile, Vietnamese investors areundertaking small-sized projects, especially in oil and gas, inMalaysia, he noted.
Besides cashew nut, coffee,pepper and aquatic products, rice can be Vietnam’s key export productto Malaysia – a market with demand for Vietnam likely reachingover one million tonne a year.
Malaysia mainlysupplies Vietnam with animal and vegetable oil, petrol, fertilizers,chemicals and seafood, while importing crude oil from the country forprocessing.
The current development speed would allowthe two countries to attain 12-15 billion USD in two-way trade in 2020,Ambassador Thao stressed.
The diplomat also expressed his strong belief that 2014 will see new progress in the two countries’ partnership.
Malaysia will assume the ASEAN Chair in 2015 when the association begins implementing its new Charter.-VNA
