National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyễn Khắc Định meets with Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof on Wednesday. VNA/VNS Photo

KUALA LUMPUR — National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyễn Khắc Định had a meeting with Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof on Wednesday in his working visit to the Southeast Asian country from August 6-9.

On behalf of the State and people of Việt Nam, Định showed sincere gratitude to the Malaysian government for assigning Deputy PM Yusof to attend the recent state funeral for General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam's Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

The Vietnamese legislator said he is pleased to acknowledge the flourishing development of bilateral relations across fields.

He suggested Malaysia focus on promoting the implementation of agreed-upon contents; promptly complete negotiations and sign other important agreements on defence, security, and education, thus creating a foundation and framework for broader cooperation between the two countries, towards further promoting and deepening the Việt Nam-Malaysia Strategic Partnership,

Định urged the two sides to work together to lift bilateral trade turnover to US$18 billion in a balanced direction; facilitate import and export activities and minimise the application of trade barriers; and strive to soon sign a cooperation agreement in the field of Halal food in the coming time.

The official also underlined the need to enhance understanding and solidarity between the people of the two countries through promoting cooperation programmes on human resources training and development in the fields that the two sides have strength, and creating favourable conditions for citizens of each country.

For his part, Yusof agreed with Vietnamese legislator’s proposals for strengthening the relations between the two countries and their parliaments, suggesting the legislatures boost cooperation and exchanges between their bodies and legislators, and enhancing cooperation between ministries, sectors and localities of the two countries.

According to the Malaysian official, there remains great potential for the two countries to cooperation in the Halal food sector. He said Việt Nam should establish an agency for Halal food, which could refer to Malaysia's standards, models, and production processes of Halal food.

Yusof affirmed that Malaysia's Halal food promotion agency is ready to share experiences and send experts to support Việt Nam in this field.

The Malaysian official noted that with Việt Nam's great potential for developing green energy, the two countries can expand bilateral cooperation as well as partnership within ASEAN, following cooperation models of the European Union’s member countries.

On the same day, Senior Manager of Putrajaya Holdings Puan Noor Izlina Idris received the Vietnamese NA delegation, during which he highly valued the strong relationship between Malaysia and Việt Nam in recent times.

The cooperation between Putrajaya Holdings and Vietnamese partners has produced many accomplishments, he noted, expressing the desire to seek Vietnamese partners for investment and specific cooperative activities, and explore Vietnamese firms, specially in urban development.

NA Vice Chairman Định welcomed Putrajaya Holdings' enhanced cooperation with Vietnamese partners in the field of urban planning

Showing his impression of Putrajaya – the administrative city of Malaysia invested by Putrajaya Holdings, Định welcomed the firm' enhanced cooperation with Vietnamese partners in the field of urban planning. He stated that Vietnam also looks to implement this model.

Việt Nam is Malaysia's only strategic partner in ASEAN, while Malaysia is the second-largest trade partner of Việt Nam in the bloc and the 11th in the world. The two countries closely cooperate in regional and international forums such as ASEAN, the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and others. The relationship between the two countries’ legislative bodies continues to be strengthened both bilaterally and multilaterally, contributing to promoting the bilateral relations. In March 2023, Việt Nam and Malaysia jointly celebrated the 50th founding anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties. — VNS