Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and hisvisiting Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim held talks in Hanoi on July 20,noting with satisfaction the development of the bilateral relations,especially since the establishment of the Strategic partnership in 2015.

They highlighted the enhanced ties in politics, diplomacy, tradeand investment, as well as the recovery of the fields directly affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic such as tourism, labour, and education - training.

The two leaders agreed that in the time ahead, Vietnam and Malaysia willincrease mutual visits and meetings at all levels between their Parties,States, Governments and parliaments; consider setting up a mechanism for thetwo PMs to meet and share opinions via flexible forms at multilateral forums; andstep up the implementation of the specialised cooperation mechanisms.

The two sides will work to raise bilateral trade to 18 billionUSD by 2025 in a balanced manner; minimise the use of trade barriers;facilitate the export and import of the commodities that they have potentialand strength for such as agricultural and aquatic products, food, electronic componentsand construction materials; grasp opportunities from regional trade agreementssuch as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensiveand Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); expand connectionsin the fields of digital economy, circular economy, green economy, and sharingeconomy.

PM Chinh affirmed that Vietnam is ready to be a stable andlong-term source of rice supply for Malaysia, and asked Malaysia to helpVietnam develop the Halal industry and soon sign a cooperation document in thisregard.

The leaders also agreed to reinforce partnerships in defence andsecurity and promote the signing of related documents; discuss the enhancementof cooperation in the defence industry and training; establish a cooperationmechanism between the naval, air, and coast guard forces of the two countries;work together to fight terrorism and transnational crimes; and boostcoordination to combat terrorist and reactionary organisations.

Vietnam and Malaysia do not allow any individual or organisationto use one country’s territory to sabotage the other, they emphasised.

The PMs also underlined the importance of maritime cooperation,and that their countries will consider the establishment of a consultativemechanism on sea-related issues and hotlines against illegal, unreported andunregulated (IUU) fishing.

PM Chinh called on Malaysia to support Vietnam’s efforts to have the European Commission’s “yellow card” warning against seafood lifted.

At the talks, the Government leaders concurred to continue the promotion of cooperation in other aspects. Accordingly, the two countrieswill consider renewing aviation and tourism cooperation agreements, increaseflights connecting the two sides, and foster ties in education - training, labour,agriculture, culture, and sports.

PM Chinh thanked and asked Malaysia to continue creatingfavourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, work, and study thereand assist the Malaysia - Vietnam Friendship Association to operate fruitfullyto contribute to people-to-people exchanges.

Discussing multilateral and regional cooperation, the PMs highlyvalued their countries’ coordination at and mutual support for each other’s candidacyfor membership of international organisations. They agreed that the two sideswill coordinate with other ASEAN members to ensure the bloc’s solidarity andunity and jointly propose suitable initiatives to help carry out ASEAN’spriorities for 2023.

The Vietnamese leader also pledged support for Malaysia’schairmanship of ASEAN in 2025.

In addition, both PMs agreed to maintain ASEAN’s common stanceon the East Sea issue, keep coordination in the negotiations on a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea, and make active contributions to the building of a practical and efficient COC that matches international law, especially the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On this occasion, PM Anwar invited his Vietnamesecounterpart to pay an official visit to Malaysia.

Following the talks, the two PMs witnessed the signing of twodocuments, namely the minutes of the 7th meeting of the JointCommittee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, and a memorandumof understanding between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the NationalChamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia./.