Hanoi (VNA🌳) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hailed Malaysia as Vietnam’s major trade and investment partner at a reception in Hanoi on July 8 for Malaysian Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

Zafrul is on a working visit to Vietnam to co-chair the 4th session of the Vietnam-Malaysia Joint Trade Committee in Hanoi. Currently, Malaysia is the third largest trading partner of Vietnam in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 10th largest in the world. With a total registered capital of over 13 billion USD, Malaysia is also the third biggest ASEAN investor in Vietnam, PM Chinh said. Vietnam always welcomes and encourages Malaysian businesses and investors to operate in the country, he said, adding that Vietnam commits to protecting their legitimate rights and interests, ensuring fair treatment, and creating favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Malaysia. As the goal of achieving 20 billion USD in two-way trade in the coming years is reachable, PM Chinh suggested both nations continue to leverage their complementary strengths, explore breakthrough solutions to boost economic, trade, and investment cooperation, and join global value and supply chains He also proposed Malaysia facilitate the entry of Vietnamese goods into its market, particularly processed farm produce, seafood, and food products; assist Vietnam in developing the Halal industry and encouraging Malaysian investments in Vietnam in this field, as well as in digital transformation, green transition, clean energy and wind power export. Furthermore, he called for bolstering joint work in emerging fields such as innovation, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. To further enhance collaboration, the PM proposed sharing experience, jointly building mechanisms and policies, improving governance capacity, transferring technology, and training quality human resources, particularly in emerging sectors. He also highlighted the need to foster effective cooperation between businesses of both countries, people-to-people exchanges, and tourism and cultural collaboration with flexible regulations. On global and regional issues, the government leader said in the current context, Vietnam and Malaysia need to continue supporting each other at multilateral forums. Together with other ASEAN member states, they should maintain the bloc's central role, strengthen unity in diversity within ASEAN, and maintain an environment of peace, stability, cooperation and development, he said. PM Chinh underscored the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, and settling disputes peacefully in line with international law, especially the United Nations Charter and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The PM affirmed Vietnam's support for Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025 and requested Malaysia to back Vietnam's efforts to have the European Commission's "yellow card" warning against Vietnamese seafood regarding illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing removed. Zafrul, for his part, noted that this is his second visit to Vietnam and mentioned an extensive agenda involving numerous Malaysian enterprises. He predicted that this year's bilateral trade turnover could reach 18 billion USD, surpassing the target initially set for 2025. He expressed his strong desire to further advance bilateral economic, trade and investment ties, especially in areas highlighted by the PM, including the Halal industry, which holds significant potential, as well as digital transformation, green transition, wind power, innovation and artificial intelligence. The minister affirmed Malaysia's continuous support for ASEAN's central role in regional issues, and expressed Malaysia's hope for Vietnam's continued support for its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025./.