(VOVworld) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his entourage leave Hanoi on Friday for Kuala Lumpur to begin an official visit to Malaysia from August 8-9 and then to attend the 50^th anniversary of Singapore’s Independence Day on August 9^th. The visits, at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, will tighten Vietnam’s relations with the two countries.
 

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his wife arrive in Malaysia (photo: Nhat Bac)

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visits show the Vietnamese Party and State policy of respecting relationships with neighboring countries. All three countries will become part of the ASEAN community later this year.

Heading to the Vietnam-Malaysia Strategic Partnership

Prime Minister Dung’s Malaysia visit aims to establish a Vietnam-Malaysia Strategic Partnership. Bilateral relations have progressed steadily, in the  10 years since the two countries signed a joint-statement outlining a comprehensive cooperative framework for the 21^st century.

Based on their fine political relations, Vietnam and Malaysia have enhanced mutual trust through high-level visits. Malaysia is one of Vietnam’s 10^th largest trading partner in ASEAN and 9^th among all foreign investors.

In 2010 trade between Vietnam and Malaysia created 5.5 billion USD in revenues. The figure was 8 billion USD in 2014. During the global economic recession, bilateral trade has grown year after year. Malaysia imports Vietnamese crude oil, rice, coffee, and seafood. Half of its imported rice is from Vietnam. With 500 projects worth 11 billion USD, Malaysia ranks 8^th among 100 foreign investors in Vietnam. Vietnamese enterprises have expanded their business in Malaysia, mainly in petroleum exploration and exploitation. The two countries have enhanced relations in education, sports, tourism, employment, mining, and national security and defense. They have worked closely on issues related to fishing grounds and the protection of fishermen.

Political trust built over the past 40 years, practical benefits for each nation, and a huge untapped potential make Prime Minister Dung’s visit to Malaysia an opportunity for Vietnam and Malaysia to establish a strategic partnership.

Enhancing political trust with Singapore

The traditional friendly relationship and cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore have grown rapidly. Both sides have promoted their bilateral strategic partnership established in September, 2013, exchanged delegations at different levels, and diversified cooperative channels. Singapore is Vietnam’s 3^rd largest trading partner in ASEAN, generating trade revenues of 9.8 billion USD last year. Singapore has 1,400 investment projects in Vietnam, totaling 33 billion USD. Cooperation in education, training, tourism, finance, and national security is expanding.

The presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his wife at Singapore’s 50^th anniversary of Independence Day on August 9 will reinforce political trust and deepen the strategic partnership in all sectors.