Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visits Malaysia, attends ASEAN summit: Sharing similar visions and aspirations, ready to contribute more to the 'common cause'

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet take a selfie at the ASEAN Future Forum High-Level Discussion in February 2025. (Photo: Hoang Hai)

Deepening the new partnership framework

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh 's official visit to Malaysia is the first visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Malaysia in 10 years, and the first visit by a key Vietnamese leader to Malaysia since the two countries established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in November 2024.

This visit aims to continue implementing the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress, in which the top priority is to develop relations with neighboring countries and ASEAN countries, including Malaysia, one of Vietnam's leading important economic partners.

At the same time, this visit by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh demonstrates Vietnam's strong support for Malaysia in its capacity as ASEAN Chair in 2025.

Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

Through the visit, Vietnam demonstrated its determination to join Malaysia and other ASEAN countries in building a sustainable and inclusive ASEAN Community, in line with the theme that Malaysia has chosen for its ASEAN Chairmanship; thereby consolidating ASEAN’s central role in peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region. In addition, the visit is also a concrete step to deepen the Vietnam-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The two countries' upgrading of relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is the clearest recognition, demonstrating our very high expectations for the Vietnam-Malaysia relationship.

Senior leaders of the two countries have had regular visits, meetings and exchanges; most notably the official visit to Malaysia by General Secretary To Lam in November 2024, as well as the visit to Vietnam by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the occasion of attending the second ASEAN Future Forum in February 2025.

More recently, within just one month, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had two phone calls with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss and share assessments of the world and regional situation, measures to promote bilateral cooperation and cooperation in the ASEAN region.

In the relationship between Vietnam and Malaysia, economic cooperation is a very important pillar and is actually developing positively. Malaysia is currently Vietnam's 3rd largest trading partner in ASEAN, Vietnam's 9th largest in the world, and is also ASEAN's 3rd largest investor in Vietnam.

The two countries share very similar visions and aspirations for development, especially the convergence of their visions in the philosophy of taking people as the center of development. While Vietnam persistently takes people as the center, subject, goal, driving force and resource for sustainable development, Malaysia also aims to become one of the 25 countries with the highest human development index in the world in the next 10 years. This is a very concrete demonstration of the deep closeness between the two countries, not only in terms of geography but also in terms of philosophy and long-term development priorities.

On such a basis, I firmly believe that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Malaysia will continue to deepen political trust between the two countries, while promoting the development of economic, trade and investment cooperation, removing current difficulties and proposing specific directions and solutions to implement the Vietnam-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, best serving the interests of the people of the two countries, actively contributing to peace, stability and development in the region.

The 46th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia took place in the context of unpredictable developments in the regional and global situation. (Source: Malaymail)

Leading and creating the future

In 2025, we will celebrate a decade of the formation of the ASEAN Community. Therefore, this ASEAN Summit and related conferences are an opportunity for countries to look back, reflect and contemplate ASEAN's journey over the past 10 years, especially the difficulties and challenges that ASEAN has overcome, as well as efforts to contribute to peace, security, prosperity and development of the region, to become a more cohesive, dynamic and aspirational community.

In the context of the world and the region going through a period of unpredictable fluctuations, the theme that Malaysia has chosen for this year is “Inclusive and Sustainable” which will guide and orient ASEAN cooperation in 2025 as well as the following years. In particular, the focus is on promoting economic, trade and investment linkages and taking advantage of new growth drivers.

The conference will adopt a new cooperation framework for the next 20 years of the Community, which is the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 with four strategies on politics - security, economy, culture - society and connectivity; thereby promoting ASEAN's achievements and enhancing ASEAN's capacity and proactiveness in the face of all current fluctuations.

ASEAN documents are agreed on the main spirit that ASEAN must not only adapt but also lead; not only act but also create the future.

The Vietnamese high-ranking delegation led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend this conference with the consistent message that Vietnam is proactive, responsible, and ready to contribute more to the common work of ASEAN, especially with new potential and new position after 30 years of Vietnam being a member of the Association.

Through the conferences, Vietnam and other countries will discuss and agree on cooperation priorities in three major groups of contents: Reaffirming the value and vitality of multilateralism, promoting dialogue, building trust, promoting ASEAN's central role in the region; launching a new roadmap to build the ASEAN Community, aiming to realize the aspiration of a self-reliant, creative, dynamic and people-centered ASEAN; promoting intra-bloc connectivity as well as connectivity between ASEAN and partners, focusing on expanding the space for cooperation in economics, trade and investment, maximizing the effectiveness of existing agreements, promoting a multilateral, fair and rules-based trading system.

I believe that this ASEAN Summit will not only continue the achievements but also create a new step, a new driving force, making practical contributions to peace, stability and sustainable development in the region and the world.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-tham-malaysia-du-cap-cao-asean-chia-se-tam-nhin-khat-vong-tuong-dong-san-sang-dong-gop-nhieu-hon-vao-su-nghiep-chung-315303.html