Malaysian PM visit to boost ties at all levels

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will begin a three-day official visit to Viet Nam today at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung.

The visit will boost bilateral relations at the "highest level" while encouraging more people-to-people contact, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said yesterday.


Aman told the Viet Nam News Agency correspondent in Kuala Lumpur that Malaysia was pleased with high-level exchange visits that have taken place in a relatively short span of time, saying that these signaled that relations between the two countries had gathered pace in recent years.

He cited the State visit made by Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang to Malaysia in 2011 and that of Malaysian King Tuanku Abdul Halim to Viet Nam last year.

He also mentioned the official visit by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Muhyiddin Yassin last October, to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Viet Nam.

The foreign minister said there are many areas that both countries can focus on to boost bilateral cooperation, noting that the two countries were in the midst of finalising an MOU on agriculture co-operation that would be signed during the PM's visit.

Aman, who is accompanying the Malaysian PM on his visit, said Malaysia highly appreciates Viet Nam's assistance in the search and rescue operations and efforts to locate the missing MH370 aircraft from the outset, particularly when it was believed that the aircraft had crashed into the East Sea.

Viet Nam and Malaysia enjoy strong bilateral ties, with two-way trade reaching US$9.1 billion in 2013, up 15.25 per cent from the previous year.