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Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai and Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato Tan Yang Thai are at the celebration. (Photo: Viet Dung) |
Speaking at the ceremony, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Chairman of the Municipal People's Committee Phan Van Mai reviewed the half-century for diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Malaysia was the first country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to recognize the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam.
In 1976, the two countries agreed to open embassies in each other's capitals.
Since 1991, Vietnam-Malaysia relations have entered a new stage of development and expanding cooperation fields within the framework of bilateral cooperation and with ASEAN.
The two countries established Inter-Governmental Committee for economic, trade and scientific-technical cooperation in September 1995, and then the two sides enhanced the two countries' relations to a strategic partnership in 2015.
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Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai delivers a speech at the ceremony. (Photo: Viet Dung) |
Chairman Mai said that Malaysia ranks sixth among the ten largest foreign investors in Ho Chi Minh City, with a total investment of nearly US$5 billion.
In the field of trade, the two-way turnover between Ho Chi Minh City and Malaysia reached US$5.4 billion in 2022, helping Malaysia in the list of the top ten largest trading partners of Ho Chi Minh City.
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Chairman Phan Van Mai meets delegates at the ceremony. (Photo: Viet Dung) |
Additionally, tourism also contributes significantly to promoting the relationship between the two countries. Particularly, last year, Vietnam welcomed more than 700,000 Malaysian tourists, up ten percent over the previous year.
The city chairman affirmed that Ho Chi Minh City has been always concerned about the relationship between Vietnam and Malaysia in general, between Ho Chi Minh City and Malaysia in particular as well as the friendship, cooperation and common vision that have contributed to the development of the two countries.
Speaking at the ceremony, Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato Tan Yang Thai said that bilateral relations have been boosted further via an agreement between the two countries on the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2015 as well as thanks to invitations of cooperation between Malaysia and Vietnam in all fields.
According to the ambassador, Malaysia remains Vietnam's ninth-largest trading partner and the second-largest trading partner in ASEAN countries after Thailand.
In 2022, total bilateral trade increased by 23 percent with a value of more than US$19 billion from electrical, electronic and petroleum products.
Regarding people-to-people exchanges, Ambassador Dato Tan Yang Thai said that Malaysia and Vietnam also became important partners in the tourism industry as Malaysia has become one of Vietnam’s ten largest tourist markets.
On the same day, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai received Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato Tan Yang Thai.
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Chairman of the Municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai presents souvenirs to Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato Tan Yang Thai. (Photo: Thuy Vu) |
At the reception, Chairman Mai affirmed that the city leaders would make efforts to strengthen the relationship between Ho Chi Minh City with Malaysian localities in particular and between Vietnam and Malaysia in general.
The city chairman highly appreciated that the Consulate General of Malaysia chose Ho Chi Minh City to organize a “Malaysia Madani Week” to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral relations between Malaysia and Vietnam showing the multifaceted relationship developments between Ho Chi Minh City and Malaysia.
Chairman Phan Van Mai believed that the two sides would have more cooperation programs in the upcoming time in the fields of trade, investment, health, education, tourism, culture, and people-to-people diplomacy to soon lift the trade turn-over between HCMC and Malaysia to US$10 billion.
Malaysia has had experiences in innovation and start-up activities which would facilitate helping HCMC develop the fields, added Mr. Mai.
Besides, HCMC is building new industrial parks and developing the current ones towards high technology which would be good conditions for Malaysian investors to consider investment decisions to the city to soon lift the total investment capital to the city to US$10 billion.
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Chairman of the Municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai (fourth from right), Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato Tan Yang Thai (fifth from right) and delegates pose a photo together. (Photo: Thuy Vu) |
On this occasion, Chairman Mai proposed the city together with localities of Malaysia and partners in ASEAN to mutually collaborate to solve challenges in climate change and epidemics control.
Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato Tan Yang Thai reaffirmed that he would try his best to strengthen the cooperation ties between the two countries, including the relationship between Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Ambassador Dato Tan Yang Thai, Ho Chi Minh City is among the top destinations of Malaysian investors when they have done business in the city since 1990. Especially, in post-Covid 19 and economic recovery, Ambassador Dato Tan Yang Thai believed that the two sides will have more opportunities to strengthen cooperation and investment activities.
On the other hand, Ambassador Dato Tan Yang Thai proposed to strengthen the digital economy cooperation between Malaysia and Vietnam with a desire of joining a Cross-Border Digital Payment System with Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand as well as attracting potential investors from the Halal market, which is the Global Islamic Finance Market worth US$5,000 billion.
