Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The upcoming visit toVietnam by Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob fromMarch 20-21 is expected to open up opportunities to elevate the bilateralstrategic partnership to a new height, Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia Tran VietThai told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s correspondents in Kuala Lumpur.

According to the diplomat, the Vietnam-Malaysiarelationship has developed intensively and extensively over the past years,especially since the two countries established their strategic partnership inAugust 2015.

In the field of politics-diplomacy, Vietnamese andMalaysian leaders have maintained the exchange of visits, he said, taking thelatest trip to Vietnam by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 2019 asan example, which has helped to expand cooperation between the two countries.

For economic-trade ties, Thai said two-way tradereached some 13.9 billion USD last year, close to the target of 15 billion USDset by the countries. Given impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impressivenumber showed potential cooperation between the two nations.

Vietnam and Malaysia have also set up cooperationmechanisms, both bilateral and multilateral. Currently, the joint committee foreconomic, scientific and technological cooperation is operating fruitfully.

They have also announced an action programme for thestrategic partnership during the 2021-2025 period, the ambassador said.

People-to-people exchange and educationalcollaboration has also made progress, he continued, expressing his belief thatthe partnership will grow further in the time ahead, especially after thevisit.

Asked about PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s message throughthe visit, Thai said this is the first trip to Vietnam by the Malaysian leadersince he took office in August 2021. It is intended to affirm the Malaysiangovernment’s resolve to open doors, recover the national economy and boostall-round cooperation with Vietnam and other countries.

According to the ambassador, Malaysia is scheduledto fully open its borders from April 1 after nearly two years of closure due tothe COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that many Malaysian businesses areinterested in the Vietnamese market as they have seen investment opportunitiesin the Southeast Asian nation in economy and trade, as well as its recoveryin other spheres.

Vietnam's agricultural and aquatic products havebeen exported to Malaysia, and Muslim markets in the Middle East and otherregions in the world through Malaysia, Thai said.

 The ambassador said the two countries havemaintained regular cooperation and coordination within the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN), and suggested them work harder to contribute toenhancing intra-bloc cooperation.

Given complex developments of the regional andinternational situation, Vietnam and Malaysia should step up coordination, shareinformation and understanding, and take joint actions in issues of mutual concernlike the situation in Myanmar, the East Sea issue, the Russia-Ukraine conflictand COVID-19 prevention and control, while supporting each other atinternational and regional forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) forum and the United Nations (UN), he suggested.

Thai emphasised that there is still ample space forVietnam and Malaysia to foster cooperation in order to enhance their bilateralties and promote ASEAN’s centrality, position and image in theinternational arena./.