Vietnam-Malaysia Relations: Deep Cultural Experience, Great Tourism Potential

On the afternoon of May 25, 2025, within the framework of the official visit to Malaysia, to attend the 46th ASEAN Summit and related Summits of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, after the official welcoming ceremony, the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam and Prime Minister of the Government of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim held talks, agreeing to promote relations in many fields with specific projects and tasks to concretize agreements and cooperation mechanisms between the two countries as well as in the ASEAN region. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung joined the official delegation accompanying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and attended activities in Malaysia.

Delighted that the Vietnam-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has just been upgraded and has made significant progress, especially in the fields of trade, investment, tourism, agriculture , culture, education and training, the Prime Ministers of the two countries believe that in the coming time, the Vietnam-Malaysia relationship will continue to develop even more strongly.

Affirming that Vietnam and Malaysia have become a model of cooperation in ASEAN: politically stable, economically strong, culturally profound, and broad in vision, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh believes that Malaysia will successfully assume the role of ASEAN Chair 2025, first of all successfully organizing the 46th ASEAN Summit and related Summits. As a result of the talks, the two sides agreed to quickly complete the framework of the Action Program to implement the Strategic Partnership for the period 2025-2030; and establish a meeting mechanism between the two Prime Ministers.

Assessing cultural, sports and tourism cooperation, the two sides were pleased with the increasingly deep cultural exchange between the two nations. With diverse cultures, Vietnam and Malaysia are always attractive destinations for tourists because tourism is the gateway to the most realistic cultural experience for visitors to explore the traditions and lives of the Vietnamese and Malaysian people.

To attract more tourists, Malaysia always focuses on creating new tourism products, satisfying tourists' needs, promoting tourism combined with education in the Vietnamese market and some other countries.

In the field of sports, to demonstrate the spirit of sports cooperation between the two countries, at the talks, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim concluded his speech by inviting both sides to cheer for the football match between the Southeast Asian All-Stars team and the English club Manchester United on May 28; as well as cheer for the match between the Vietnamese team and the Malaysian team in the Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10, demonstrating solidarity, taking sports as a common strength for the development of the two countries.

Regarding the direction of cooperation in the coming time, the two sides agreed to continue to increase delegation exchanges and contacts at high and all levels through all channels; move towards establishing an annual and flexible exchange mechanism between the two countries' senior leaders; and continue to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Along with strengthening political, economic and trade cooperation, the Prime Ministers of the two countries affirmed to continue to coordinate to promote cooperation in the fields of culture, sports, tourism, and information exchange, accordingly, it is necessary to consider soon signing new aviation and tourism cooperation agreements; increase flight frequency to increase the number of two-way tourist exchanges; promote cooperation in training human resources in tourism, continuously organize friendly matches between sports teams of the two countries, and promote cultural exchanges to further connect people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Previously, in Kuala Lumpur, Minister Nguyen Van Hung and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a meeting with Vietnamese-Malaysian businesses, receiving a number of leading Malaysian businesses such as Gamuda Land Group, Capital A Group, Grab Group, and the Association of Overseas Chinese Commerce and Industry in Malaysia.

The Prime Minister welcomed Grab's efforts in promoting digital transformation, hoping that Grab will cooperate with technology to contribute to digital transformation of the tourism industry, supporting the goal of promoting and accelerating the development of Vietnamese tourism - one of the new driving forces for socio-economic development in Vietnam.

After Capital A Group shared its desire to cooperate to improve the operational capacity of Vietravel Airlines and expand cooperation with Vietnam in the tourism sector, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that the Group study increasing flights between the two countries in the coming time to create conditions for businesses of the two countries to connect and do business, while developing tourism between the two countries, thereby contributing to the development of the Vietnam - Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership./.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/quan-he-viet-nam-malaysia-sau-sac-ve-van-hoa-nhieu-tiem-nang-ve-du-lich-20250526100240494.htm