General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Nguyễn Phú Trọng greeted the visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during their talks in Hà Nội on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Nguyễn Phú Trọng received Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday during an official visit at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.

The Vietnamese Party leader welcomed the Malaysian PM and the high-level Malaysian delegation on their visit, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1973-2023).

Party chief Trọng recalled the good memories of his previous visit to Malaysia, and highly appreciated the strong and comprehensive development of cooperation between the two countries.

He emphasised that Việt Nam and Malaysia are friendly neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia, sharing views on many important international issues as well as having many cultural and historical similarities. There are also a large number of Vietnamese people living and studying in Malaysia.

Trọng expressed his gratitude to the Malaysian leader for his affection for the late Vietnamese President Hồ Chí Minh and his kind words about the country, people, and the all-sided development of Việt Nam, as well as important achievements in the management of the country and anti-corruption efforts.

He also spoke with the Malaysian guest about the significant and comprehensive achievements that Việt Nam has obtained, building up its potential, position, and international prestige that it is enjoying today.

General Secretary Trọng affirmed Việt Nam’s foreign policy of independence, autonomy, multilateralisation, and diversification of foreign relations, in which relations with neighbouring countries are always valued.

He shared with the Malaysian Prime Minister the importance of the campaign against corruption and waste, which has been carried out systematically and achieved important results with the support and trust of the Vietnamese people.

Việt Nam has learned a lot from Malaysia's development experience and highly appreciated the achievements that Malaysia has earned under the leadership of PM Anwar Ibrahim in recent times.

Party chief Trọng spoke highly of the positive results of talks between the two countries’ prime ministers, expressing his confidence that Việt Nam and Malaysia still have a lot of potential for strong development, in accordance with the cooperation initiatives that the Malaysian leader proposed, including the exchange of experience in state leadership, socio-economic development management, and anti-corruption policies.

The Malaysian PM reiterated his special respect for Việt Nam’s history of struggle for national independence and admiration for the late President Hồ Chí Minh.

He also stated that he has been impressed with Việt Nam’s great changes and developments, especially the leadership role of the Communist Party of Việt Nam, and the special contributions of General Secretary Trọng.

PM Anwar Ibrahim informed General Secretary Trọng of the results of his talks with PM Chính, underlining the desire to promote comprehensive cooperation with Việt Nam, including party-to-party relations, sharing leadership and development experiences, economic cooperation, and cooperating on defence and security, as well as in new areas such as the digital economy, cyber security, and non-traditional security challenges.

PM Anwar Ibrahim shared Trọng’s views on the need to fight corruption and hoped that the two sides would promote cooperation and exchange experience in this field.

The Malaysian leader emphasised his joy and appreciation for the meeting with the Vietnamese Party leader, while Trọng expressed his confidence that the visit of PM Anwar Ibrahim is a new milestone, contributing to the advancement of the development of the strategic partnership between the two countries. — VNS