Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim (centre) along with their spouses ahead of the talks in Hà Nội on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his spouse welcomed Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim and his spouse, who are paying an official visit to Việt Nam, at a ceremony held in Hà Nội on Thursday.

The trip on July 20-21 is the first official visit to Việt Nam by PM Anwar Ibrahim since he took office in December 2022.

Following the welcome ceremony, the two PMs visited an exhibition featuring Việt Nam, Malaysia, their people and relations jointly held by the Vietnam News Agency and the Vietnamese Government Office, and then held talks at the Government’s headquarters.

During his stay in Việt Nam, the Malaysian PM will also meet with Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, President Võ Văn Thưởng, and National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ.

The leaders will review relations over the recent past and outline measures for promoting the strategic partnership.

This year, Việt Nam and Malaysia celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties and the 8th anniversary of the strategic partnership.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim had talks on Thursday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

Actively working together to carry out the action plan for implementing the strategic partnership for 2021-25, the two countries have frequently held high-level mutual visits and meetings and maintained cooperation mechanisms. Both nations have paid attention to and share common stances on many regional and international issues, including the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea).

Bilateral trade and investment have been growing continually. Malaysia currently ranks second in ASEAN and 9th in the world among trading partners of Việt Nam, which in turn is the third largest ASEAN trading partner of the former. Their trade stood at US$14.68 billion in 2022, up 17.4 per cent year on year.

Malaysia is the second biggest ASEAN investor and the 10th among 140 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam, with 702 valid projects worth $13 billion.

The cooperation in labour, tourism, and education is also a highlight of their relations. There are about 12,000 legal workers and some 1,000 students of Việt Nam in Malaysia. Besides, Malaysia is one of the top 10 sources of foreign tourists to Việt Nam, statistics showed. — VNS

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim reviewed the guard of honour during the official welcome ceremony for the Malaysian guest in Hà Nội on Thursday,. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang