Trần Phú Lữ, deputy director of HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Center, speaks at a meeting to promote trade and promotion with Malaysia on Monday in HCM City. — Photo courtesy of the centre

HCM CITY — Việt Nam and Malaysia, one of Việt Nam’s most important trading partners, have set a bilateral trade target of US$18 billion by 2025.

Speaking at a meeting yesterday, Trần Phú Lữ, deputy director of HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC), said the city will continue to improve its business climate and streamline administrative reform, including creating favourable conditions for Malaysian investors.

The ITPC under the city administration regularly organises activities to support city businesses to promote trade and investment, and expand export markets, he said.

Việt Nam and Malaysia have vowed to strengthen cooperation in tourism, culture, and science and technology, among other sectors, he said.

The visit by the Malaysian Prime Minister to Việt Nam last year confirmed the strategic relationship between the two countries, he added.

Bilateral trade reached nearly $14.8 billion last year with Vietnamese exports to Malaysia worth $5.57 billion and imports $9.1 billion. 

HCM City’s total imports and exports with Malaysia last year were estimated at over $5.4 billion, up 8 per cent year-on-year.

As of the end of March, Malaysia invested in 329 projects in HCM City with a total investment of nearly $4.9 billion, ranking sixth out of 116 countries and territories investing in the city. 

Malaysia is one of Việt Nam’s 10 largest trading partners. The two countries are also members of a number of new-generation free trade agreements, which help boost bilateral trade.

The free trade agreements include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).

Key Vietnamese exports to Malaysia include machinery and equipment and their parts, computers, electronics and components, steel, petroleum, and chemicals.

The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973, which were upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2015. — VNS