Malaysian PM's visit to Vietnam signals desire to strengthen Strategic Partnership: Ambassador
WVR - Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will pay an official visit to Vietnam from July 20-21. On this occasion, Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Tan Yang Thai shared about the meanings of the visit and cooperation potentials between the two nations.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the occasion of the 42nd ASEAN Summit. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
Could you share us the meaning and key contents of the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Vietnam?
The official visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim to Vietnam from 20-21 July 2023 is part of the Malaysian Prime Minister’s introductory visit to ASEAN countries. It will be his inaugural visit to Vietnam as the Prime Minister of Malaysia since his appointment early this year.
The visit is also significant as this year marks 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Vietnam and is an acknowledgement of the close ties shared between the two countries. Furthermore, the high-level visit signals the desire by both countries to continue to strengthen and substantively develop the Strategic Partnership established since 2015.
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| Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Tan Yang Thai. (Photo: PA) |
The Prime Minister will be meeting with all 4 pillars of Vietnam leadership and discussing with them issues related to the promotion of bilateral relations, encompassing the Strategic Partnership, exchanges of visits, trade and investment, defence and security as well as regional cooperation.
The Prime Minister will also attend the Malaysia – Vietnam Business Forum. The Forum will provide an excellent opportunity for the Prime Minister and his delegation to gain better understanding and insight into the vast opportunities that exist to significantly increase two-way trade and strengthen investment relations.
The Prime Minister will also meet with the Malaysian diaspora here in Vietnam. While the Malaysian community is modest in numbers, they are contributing members of society, living peacefully among the local community. In fact, a number of its members are leaders of businesses, which positively contribute to the socio-economy of Vietnam.
This year the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the dplomatic relations. Could you please tell us the outstanding marks in the bilateral relations in the past time?
Malaysia values it strong and substantive relations with Vietnam and are committed to develop and expand the relations further. The past 5 decades have seen an expansion and deepening of relations across all sectors.
Significantly, Malaysia and Vietnam upgraded relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2015 and have adopted two Action Plans to direct efforts to achieve the objectives set under the Partnership. The second Action Plan, from 2021 – 2025 is currently in effect and incorporates a number of cooperation initiatives, especially in economics. Furthermore, Malaysia and Vietnam have established important bilateral mechanisms for the purpose of strengthening relations – including the Joint Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation (JCM) and the Malaysia Vietnam Joint Trade Committee (JTC).
The 7th JCM to be co – hosted by the Foreign Ministers of Malaysia and Vietnam will be held on 20 July, prior to the visit by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The 4th JTC is expected to be held later this year.
Malaysia has also worked closely with Vietnam at the regional level, notably as fellow members of ASEAN, and beyond that to promote peace and prosperity for all.
Economy is a bright spot in bilateral cooperation, especially in trade and investments. What are your assessments about the prospects of cooperation in this field between the two countries in the coming time?
Economic cooperation is an important component of the strong and substantive relations between Malaysia and Vietnam. As of 2022, total trade between the two countries rose by 23% with a value of USD 19.44 billion comprising mostly electric, electronic, petroleum, chemical and chemical based products. Vietnam is Malaysia’s 12 largest trading partner and 10 largest export destination for 2022. Among ASEAN countries, Malaysia is Vietnam’s 4th largest trading partner.
As part of ongoing efforts in expanding and strengthening economic relations, Malaysia and Vietnam have established the Malaysia Vietnam Joint Trade Committee (JTC) and will be having its fourth meeting later this year.
Malaysia has good economic relations with Vietnam, but it is far from reaching its full potential.
Vietnam is having methodical strategies to develop the Halal industry. How do you assess the potentials for cooperation between the two countries in this field. Could you reveal that how Vietnam’s halal products could soon develop in the Malaysian market?
Malaysia is known to be a leading supplier of a wide range of Halal-certified products and services, namely food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, finance and tourism. To promote the growth of Malaysia’s Halal economy, the Government recently launched the Halal Industry Master Plan 2030 (HIMP 2030).
Malaysia is ready to support and render our assistance to the Vietnamese businesses or officials in developing the Halal industry here.
Some of the suggestions to enhance cooperation with Vietnam business are:
Creating better awareness and understanding of key relevant stakeholders and industry players on certification-related processes, trade policy and entry requirements (e.g. food safety, Malaysia Food Act 1983; Regulations 1985) through forums, dialogue and workshops to exchange experience and information;
Recognition of certification body in Vietnam by JAKIM allows Vietnamese companies to refer to the standards of Halal;
The establishment of government-to-government cooperation will directly influence the opening up of market opportunities for both countries. Halal should be seen as more than just certification and to be promoted and propagated as a benchmark for quality and safety at par with internationally recognized standards.
