Deepening Vietnam-Malaysia relations

This is Najib Tun Razak’s first visit to Vietnam after he was re-elected Prime Minister of Malaysia in May 2013, aiming to boost bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, investment, and labour.  

Located in Southeast Asia, Malaysia was a poor, agricultural nation after it gained independence in 1957. It introduced the Look West policy in the 1970s and then Look East policy in the 1980s to take advantage of technology, capital and development experience from Japan and several other new industrialized countries (NICs).

Recently, Malaysia has carried out the Look South policy, strengthening cooperation with developing countries, to expand its markets overseas.

In 2010 Malaysia introduced the two stimulus packages worth US$18 billion to shore up its economy, shifting its export markets from Europe and North America to Asia and the Middle East. As a result, the country achieved GDP growth of 7.2% in 2010, and 5.1% in 2011 and 2012.

The government has unveiled a new economic model (NEM) – an ambitious plan to turn Malaysia into a middle income nation with per capita income increasing twofold to US$15,000 by 2020.

In its foreign policy, Malaysia has developed friendship with other countries in Southeast Asia to maintain a stable and peaceful environment for regional development and cooperation. It has boosted economic cooperation with developing countries and strengthened South-South cooperation.

Vietnam and Malaysia established diplomatic ties in March 1973. The ties of friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries have grown and flourished in various areas, through high-level reciprocal visit exchanges.

Malaysia is Vietnam’s third largest trade partner within ASEAN and ninth in the world. Two-way trade has increased gradually over the years, from US$4.2 billion in 2009 to US$7.9 billion in 2012, and US$9 billion in 2013.

The two countries have cooperated in oil and gas exploration and exploitation. Since the two national petroleum giants PetroVietnam and Petronas Malaysia established cooperative ties in 1991, they have carried out 10 projects in Vietnam, with a combined output of 72,000 barrels per day.

They signed a memorandum of understanding on education cooperation during a Malaysian visit in 2004 by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. The Malaysian government and businesses annually grant scholarships to Vietnamese students to follow graduate and post-graduate courses in Malaysia.

The Malaysian government opened its market for Vietnamese workers in 2002, and the two countries signed a governmental-level agreement on labour cooperation. Currently, about 80,000 Vietnamese nationals are working in Malaysia.

Progress has been made in national security and defence cooperation. Both countries have coordinated well at regional and international forums, especially ASEAN and the United Nations.

Vietnam and Malaysia signed an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders in September 2001, and the number of Malaysian visitors to Vietnam has since increased considerably from 106,000 to 211,000 in 2011.

They also signed a joint statement on comprehensive cooperation in the 21^st century and other agreements on the fight against corruption, education, national defence, banking, and information and communications technology.