National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception on January 18 for President of the Senate of Malaysia’s Parliament S. Vigneswaran M. Sanasee, who is in Hanoi to attend the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26).

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) receives President of the Senate of Malaysia’s Parliament S. Vigneswaran M. Sanasee 

Ngan affirmed that the Malaysian delegation’s participation in the meeting is a positive support for the Vietnamese NA.

She said she is delighted at the development of the bilateral relations, and suggested that the two sides coordinate more closely to design specific cooperative programmes in order to deepen the bilateral strategic partnership and realise agreements reached by high-level leaders.

Vietnam wants to enhance its trade ties with Malaysia and hopes Malaysia will boost cooperation with Vietnam in the labour field, Chairwoman Ngan said.

Hailing the Malaysian Government’s cooperation in issues related to fishermen and citizen protection, the Vietnamese top legislator asked Malaysian parliamentarians to help create favourable conditions for Vietnamese people who are living and working in the country.

She took the occasion to thank Malaysia for its commitment to supporting Vietnam’s bid for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.

Ngan also called on stronger cooperation between the both sides to build an environment of peace and stability in the region and consolidate ASEAN unity, especially in the fields of shared interests such as maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea and building a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.

She expressed her hope that the two legislative bodies will intensify collaboration at regional and international forums, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

Senate President Sanasee shared his host assessment that the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Malaysia and Vietnam have been intensified and consolidated since they set up their diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago, particularly the elevation of bilateral ties to a strategic partnership in August 2015.

He noted that two-way trade reached 8.2 billion USD in the first 10 months of 2017. Malaysia has run 562 investment projects worth over 12 billion USD, ranking seventh among foreign investors in Vietnam.

Collaboration in culture, education, labour and sports has also expanded continuously, he said.

He proposed extending ties to potential fields such as tourism as more and more Malaysians are keen on visiting Vietnam.

He stressed the need to maintain meetings and visits between the two parliaments and their offices, improve the role of parliamentarians in tightening the bilateral ties, and step up people-to-people exchanges.-VNA