HANOI: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s three day official visit here starting tomorrow is expected to further strengthen relations between Malaysia and Vietnam, while opening up opportunities to increase bilateral trade to reach the US$15 billion (RM62.82 billion) mark next year.
This will be an increase of US$2billion (RM8.37billion) as compared to the US$ 13.3 billion (RM55.7 billion) worth of bilateral trade recorded last year.
Malaysian ambassador to Vietnam, Datuk Shariffah Norhana Syed Mustaffa said the official visit was at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
It will be Dr Mahathir’s first official visit to the socialist republic after being appointed as prime minister for the second time in May 2018.
The last official visit he had to Vietnam was when he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) conference in his capacity as prime minister in 1998.
Shariffah Norhana said Dr Mahathir’s visit this time was intended to boost bilateral relations which were established on March 30, 1973.
Last year, Malaysian exports to Vietnam were worth a total of US$8.48 billion (RM35.51billion) , while imports from Vietnam totalled US$ 4.77 billion (RM19.98billion).
“Malaysia is Vietnam’s 11th biggest trade partner. Vietnam is Malaysia’s 13th biggest trade partner in the world, and fourth biggest trade partner in Asean after Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
“Malaysia is the eighth biggest investor country in Vietnam with investments amounting to US$12.48 billion (RM52.27) in 2018,” she told Malaysian media here today.
Dr Mahathir will be accompanied by his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, and they are expected to arrive at about 5.20pm tomorrow (6.20pm Malaysian time).
On Tuesday, Dr Mahathir will be accorded an official welcoming ceremony at Presidential Palace, followed by a four-eyed meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart.
“Both leaders are expected to discuss bilateral relations and ways to promote new collaborations in various fields, among them being trade and industry, security, education and agriculture, in addition to regional and global issues.
“The issue of Vietnamese fishermen encroaching into Malaysian waters is expected to be touched upon, too,” said Shariffah Norhana.
On Wednesday, Dr Mahathir will visit the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park and is slated to give a speach in front of university students on the topic of ‘Malaysia’s Preparation Towards Industrial Revolution 4.0’.
He will also visit an exhibition of Vietnamese made cars, namely the VinFast models Lu SA 2.0, Lux SA (A) 2.0 and Fadil 1.5.
“The prime minister and his wife will stop by at the Noi Bai Industrial Zone, which is managed by Noi Bai Development Corporation Limited (NBD), a Malaysian-Vietnamese joint venture company comprising Vista Spectrum Sdn Bhd and Urban Infrastructure Development Investment Corporation (UDIC) Vietnam.
“During the prime minister’s visit (to Vietnam) in 1998, he launched the ground-breaking ceremony for the Noi Bai Industrial Zone,” she said.