Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives Tan Sri Dato’ Johari bin Abdul receives Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Trần Thanh Mẫn in Kuala Lumpur on September 19. — VNA/VNS Photo

KUALA LUMPUR — Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Trần Thanh Mẫn held talks with Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives Tan Sri Dato’ Johari bin Abdul, following an official welcome ceremony organised for the top Vietnamese legislator in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Speaker Johari bin Abdul appreciated the significance of Chairman Mẫn’s first official visit to Malaysia, expressing his belief that it will help enhance cooperation between the two legislative bodies, and contribute to the effective implementation of the Việt Nam–Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as well as the success of the 46th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter‑Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-46).

On behalf of the Vietnamese NA and people, Chairman Mẫn extended congratulations to the Parliament and people of Malaysia on the occasion of the 68th Independence Day (August 31) and the 62nd Malaysia Day (September 16); and highlighted Malaysia’s strong economic development and effective governance, with GDP growth reaching 5.1 per cent in 2024 - the highest in the past 12 years.

He highly evaluated Malaysia’s role and contributions as the ASEN Chair and the AIPA-46 President, and affirmed that Việt Nam will support Malaysia in successfully assuming these roles, with the shared goal of building a united, cohesive ASEAN that maintains its central role in the region.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the positive and substantive progress in the bilateral relations in recent times, especially the milestone of upgrading the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Party General Secretary Tô Lâm’s visit to Malaysia in November 2024, which has opened up a new chapter for deeper and more effective bilateral cooperation.

Political collaboration has become increasingly close across all channels. In particular, both sides have regularly maintained high-level contacts, delegation exchanges at all levels, as well as various bilateral cooperation mechanisms. Parliamentary cooperation has also seen positive development, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The two sides have frequently exchanged delegations, maintained high-level parliamentary contacts, and closely coordinated within regional and international inter-parliamentary forums.

To promote more effective, substantive, and deeper collaboration in the new period, both sides agreed on the need to further strengthen political trust and soon carry out the 2025–2030 Action Programme for the implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

They emphasised the importance of facilitating economic, trade, and investment cooperation to early achieve the target of US$18 billion in bilateral trade, in a more balanced manner, with a focus on potential areas such as the Halal industry, renewable and green energy, digital transformation, agriculture, tourism, and education and training.

Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Trần Thanh Mẫn, Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives Tan Sri Dato’ Johari bin Abdul and delegates at the welcome ceremony. — VNA/VNS Photo

The two countries will also enhance maritime cooperation and coordinate effectively in addressing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to create favourable conditions for the European Union (EU) to soon lift its "yellow card" warning on Việt Nam’s seafood exports.

They agreed to foster people-to-people exchanges, especially among the younger generation, not only to strengthen the friendship between the two nations but also to contribute to the ASEAN Community.

In addition, the two leaders reached consensus on promoting parliamentary cooperation by increasing high-level and committee-level delegation exchanges, as well as engagement between women and young parliamentarians. They pledged to share information and experience in building and improving legal frameworks, creating favourable conditions for implementing new areas of cooperation under the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and strengthening oversight of the implementation of international treaties and cooperation agreements signed between the two governments.

The Vietnamese NA and the Malaysian Parliament will continue to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums such as AIPA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), among others, thus contributing to maintaining a peaceful, stable, and developing environment in the region and the world.

On this occasion, Chairman Mẫn invited the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malaysia to visit Việt Nam again. — VNA/VNS