Vietnam strengthens cooperation with Brunei, Malaysia, Timor Leste

On the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with leaders of Brunei, Malaysia and Timor Leste to strengthen partnership, expand economic cooperation, defense and sustainable development in...

According to a special correspondent of the Vietnam News Agency, on the occasion of the 47th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN 47) and related Summits in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), on October 28, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and Prime Minister of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmão.

Meeting with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh respectfully conveyed the greetings of General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that relevant ministries and sectors of Vietnam will actively coordinate with Brunei Darussalam to prepare all aspects for the upcoming visit of the King and Queen to Vietnam, achieving good and substantive results.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah is pleased to see that the relationship between Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam continues to develop well.

Assessing the potential for promoting cooperation in the coming time, the King said that the two countries still have a lot of room and potential that needs to be exploited and promoted better, such as oil and gas, seafood, tourism, especially the joint venture of Halal food processing in Vietnam.

Regarding the direction of bilateral cooperation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the two economies are highly complementary, and asked Brunei Darussalam to continue creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to cooperate in all mutually beneficial fields; grant more licenses for Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen to catch aquatic and seafood products in Brunei Darussalam's waters; and support Vietnam in granting certificates, producing Halal food and taking advantage of Vietnam's rich and abundant raw materials.

On this occasion, the two leaders agreed to continue effectively implementing the Action Program to implement the Vietnam-Brunei Darussalam Comprehensive Partnership for the 2023-2027 period, increase contacts and exchanges at all levels and promote people-to-people exchanges, contributing to creating momentum and deepening bilateral relations in the coming time.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, ASEAN Chair 2025. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

At the meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the two leaders highly appreciated the efforts of the two countries' ministries and sectors in promptly implementing cooperation areas, contributing to deepening and substantiating the Vietnam-Malaysia Strategic Partnership, and determined that economic cooperation will remain an important pillar in the bilateral relationship in the coming time.

Pleased to meet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim again after his official visit to Malaysia on the occasion of the 46th ASEAN Summit (May 2025), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the great strides in economic cooperation between the two countries in recent times, accordingly, the two-way trade turnover as of September 2025 reached more than 12 billion USD, an increase of 12.9% over the same period last year.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim supported Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's proposal for the two sides to soon sign a cooperation document in the field of Halal industry development and affirmed that Malaysia is ready to support Vietnam in organizing promotional activities for agricultural products to increase awareness in the Malaysian market.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that the two countries continue to coordinate to promote defense relations on the basis of effectively implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Defense Cooperation signed in December 2023.

The Prime Minister also hopes that the two sides will soon sign cooperation agreements in the fields of security, education, and aviation; and promote expanded cooperation in the fields of digital economy, green economy, science and technology, innovation, smart agriculture, e-government, cyber security, and artificial intelligence (AI) human resource training.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, ASEAN Chair 2025. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim agreed that the two countries should establish a consultation and management mechanism on the sea, coordinate with ASEAN countries to implement practical cooperation on seas and oceans, and fisheries cooperation. He welcomed Vietnam's efforts in preventing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and agreed to closely coordinate towards removing the EU's "yellow card".

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated Malaysia on successfully organizing the 47th ASEAN Summit in all aspects, promoting ASEAN's central role in resolving regional issues and maintaining intra-bloc solidarity, contributing to regional peace, security and development.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

In a conversation with Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated Timor Leste on officially becoming the 11th member of ASEAN, marking a historic turning point in the country's integration process, as well as a historic milestone in ASEAN's development process.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam will continue to accompany, support and share experiences to help Timor Leste participate effectively and make positive contributions to the ASEAN Community.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed that the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Timor Leste has continued to develop positively in recent times, especially in the fields of economics, trade, agriculture, telecommunications and education.

The two sides agreed to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, promote the effective implementation of signed cooperation agreements, and expand cooperation in potential areas such as green economy, digital economy, clean energy, innovation, and AI.

The two leaders agreed to deepen bilateral relations in the coming time, promote high-level visits and all-level visits, soon organize the first meeting of the Vietnam-Timor Leste Joint Committee at the Foreign Minister level, effectively implement signed agreements; exploit the potential for economic cooperation, especially trade and investment, and create favorable conditions for businesses of the two countries to do business and operate in each other's markets.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

The two sides agreed to promote cultural, tourism and educational cooperation, actively contribute to people-to-people exchanges and promote the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

Discussing international and regional issues, the two sides agreed to continue close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that Vietnam is committed to continuing to support Timor Leste to effectively participate in ASEAN activities; hopes that Timor Leste, as a member state of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and the 11th member of ASEAN, will continue to support ASEAN's common stance on the East Sea issue and work together to achieve a truly effective, substantive Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, especially UNCLOS 1982, contributing to building the East Sea into a sea of ​​peace, stability, cooperation and development./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/viet-nam-tang-cuong-hop-tac-voi-cac-nuoc-brunei-malaysia-timor-leste-post1073360.vnp