Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. — Photo The Star/ANN

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will undertake a working visit to Việt Nam where he will deliver a keynote address at the 2nd ASEAN Future Forum here tomorrow.

Malaysian Ambassador to Việt Nam Datuk Tan Yang Thai said that as ASEAN chairman this year, the Prime Minister’s keynote ­add­ress will, among other things, emphasise efforts to strengthen the regional grouping in dealing with several important issues.

“The Prime Minister’s keynote address will generally emphasise efforts to strengthen Asean in the face of great power pressure, strengthen Asean’s digital economy agenda, drive green initiatives and prioritise sustainable deve­lopment to secure the future of Asean member states,” he told Malaysian media here yesterday.

He said that as ASEAN Chair, it is important for Malaysia to promote and defend the country’s objectives and priorities, and for its stance and opinions to be highlighted in discussions on the future of regional grouping, Bernama reported.

According to Tan, apart from the keynote address, Anwar is also scheduled to participate in panel discussions with his counterparts Phạm Minh Chính of Việt Nam and Christopher Luxon of New Zealand, as well as Presi­dent Jose Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste, at the forum.

Anwar is expected to arrive at Nội Bài International Airport here tonight on a special plane to begin his working visit to Việt Nam. This will be his second visit to Việt Nam after assuming office in 2022.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Datuk Seri R. Ram­anan, Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin, Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid and Sri Gading MP Aminolhuda Hassan.

During the visit, Anwar is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call to key Vietnamese leaders and hold bilateral meetings with seve­ral leaders of Asean countries parti­cipating in the forum.

Tan said Anwar is also schedu­led to pay a courtesy call to Viet­namese President Lương Cường and secretary-general of the Com­munist Party of Việt Nam Tô Lâm.

According to the ambassador, the meeting with Tô Lâm is a follow-­up to the historic meeting between the two leaders in Malay­sia in November last year, during which Malaysia and Việt Nam relations were upgraded to a Com­pre­hensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level in Việt Nam’s diplomatic hierarchy.

“This time around, the two lead­ers are expected to discuss the development and progress of Malaysia-Việt Nam relations with a focus on strengthening and enhancing cooperation in key sectors of mutual interest, including trade and investment, defence, halal industry, connectivity and tourism.

“Various regional and global issues of interest will also be discussed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tan said the ASEAN Future Forum is important to maintain Malaysia’s visibility as Asean chairman as it also provides the opportunity for the Prime Minister to set the narrative and priority issues for Malay­sia, ahead of the Asean Summit.

“This year also marks the 30th anniversary of Việt Nam in ASEAN.

“The Prime Minister’s participation in the event organised by Việt Nam not only strengthens bilateral relations between the two countries but as the Asean Chair this year, underlines the closeness and unity between ASEAN member states,” he added. — THE STAR/ANN