Malaysia, Vietnam explore opportunities to further enhance ties
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Vietnam are exploring opportunities to further enhance bilateral ties, especially on security matters and areas of mutual interest.
This was discussed when Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi received a courtesy call from his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Hoa Binh at his office here yesterday.
In a statement after the meeting, Ahmad Zahid said that he hoped that the engagement between Malaysia and Vietnam today would pave the way to bring relations between the two countries to a new level.
"Bilateral ties between Malaysia and Vietnam which have entered 44 years now have progressed well, are comprehensive and substantive.
"Both countries enjoy solid ties in various sectors including trade and investment, education, security, defence and people-to-people relations,” he said.
In the meeting which lasted almost an hour, Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said Malaysia was confident that relations with Vietnam could be further improved especially in areas like trade and investment, finance, defence and security.
Other areas included agriculture, education, manpower, culture, youth and sports, tourism and transportation, he said.
Last year, the value of trade and investment between Malaysia and Vietnam last year amounted to US$10.3 billion.