PUTRAJAYA: General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam, who is on a three-day official visit to Malaysia, was accorded an official welcome at Dataran Perdana in Putrajaya on Thursday (Nov 21).
Lam was greeted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on arrival.
He then inspected the main guard of honour made up of two officers and 103 members of the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment led by Major Mohamad Fikri Senan.
Also present at the ceremony were both Deputy Prime Ministers, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, as well as Cabinet ministers, foreign diplomats, and senior government officials.
In a meeting between Lam and Anwar, they discussed bilateral matters between Malaysia and Vietnam, focusing on the progress of ongoing cooperation in key sectors such as trade and investment, agriculture and commodities, the halal industry, energy, digital technology, and information and communication.
According to Wisma Putra, Anwar will also host a luncheon in honour of Lam and his delegation at Seri Perdana on Tuesday.
Both leaders will witness the exchange of the Memorandum of Understanding on Enhancing Trade Promotion between the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade); and a Memorandum of Collaboration between PETRONAS and PetroVietnam in the field of renewable energy.
During the visit, Lam is also scheduled to meet with Senate President Datuk Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Dr Johari Abdul at Parliament.
In 2023, Vietnam ranked as Malaysia's 11th largest trading partner globally and the 4th largest partner within Asean. The value of bilateral trade between Malaysia and Vietnam stood at RM80bil, with exports from Malaysia to Vietnam valued at RM52bil.
Malaysian companies have implemented more than 700 projects in Vietnam, with investments totalling US$13.1bil. – Bernama
