Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung holds talks with the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Building on the strong development of the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Malaysia, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak agreed to move towards elevating the relationship between the two countries to a new level – a strategic partnership – for the benefit of the people of both countries, and for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

At the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his wife, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife paid an official visit to Vietnam from April 3-5. This was Prime Minister Najib Razak's first official visit to Vietnam as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

On the morning of April 4th, following the official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Prime Minister Najib held talks.

Attending the talks on the Vietnamese side were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh; Minister and Head of the Government Office Nguyen Van Nen; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat; Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia Nguyen Hong Thao and leaders of relevant ministries and agencies.

On the Malaysian side were Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman; Minister of International Trade and Industry YB Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed; Minister of Agriculture YB Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob; Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato' Azmil Mohd Zabidi and other senior Malaysian officials.

During the talks, the two Prime Ministers informed each other about the socio-economic development situation in their respective countries and congratulated each other on the achievements they have made in recent times.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung once again extended his deepest condolences to Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Government and people of Malaysia, and the families of the victims on flight MH370.

For his part, Prime Minister Najib expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation for Vietnam's support in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Discussing bilateral cooperation, the two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction with the strong development of the friendly relations and good cooperation between the two countries over the past 40 years.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung highly appreciated Malaysia as one of Vietnam's leading trading partners and investors. Trade turnover between the two countries in 2013 reached over US$9 billion (a 67% increase compared to 2010). Regarding investment, Malaysia currently ranks 8th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 451 projects and a total registered capital of over US$10 billion.

The two leaders agreed to strive to increase bilateral trade to $11 billion before 2015; and to encourage and facilitate businesses from both countries to strengthen trade and investment in each other.

The two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction with the recent cooperation in rice trade between the two countries, with over 60% of Malaysia's total rice imports coming from Vietnam; agreed to soon sign a separate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on rice trade; and to continue promoting cooperation in areas such as labor, agriculture, oil and gas, education, law, and justice.

Vietnam-Malaysia high-level talks.

The two Prime Ministers welcomed the signing of the MOU on Vietnam-Malaysia Agricultural Cooperation on this occasion and instructed the relevant ministries and agencies of both countries to promptly implement the cooperation contents to exploit the potential and strengths of agriculture in both countries, including promoting cooperation in the export of agricultural and aquatic products.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also highly appreciated Malaysia as one of Vietnam's leading labor cooperation partners, with more than 80,000 Vietnamese workers currently employed in Malaysia.

The two leaders agreed to instruct relevant ministries and agencies of both countries to review and revise the "Memorandum of Understanding on the Recruitment of Vietnamese Workers to Work in Malaysia," signed in 2003, to suit the current situation, minimize labor disputes, and ensure the legitimate interests of Vietnamese workers in Malaysia.

The two Prime Ministers also highly appreciated the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of defense and security; and agreed to soon promote the signing of documents such as: an Agreement on coordinated joint patrols and the establishment of a hotline between the navies of the two countries, and a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in preventing and combating transnational crime.

In the spirit of humanitarianism and the current good relations between the two countries, the Malaysian Prime Minister affirmed that the case of the Vietnamese fishermen currently detained in Malaysia will be resolved soon.

The two leaders agreed to hold the 5th session of the Vietnam-Malaysia Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Malaysia to implement the agreements reached.

In addition to bilateral issues, the two leaders discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern. Both sides affirmed their commitment to continued close coordination in regional and international forums; and agreed to work closely with each other and with other ASEAN countries to successfully build a strong and united ASEAN Community by 2015, as well as to develop the ASEAN Vision after 2015.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed Vietnam's support for Malaysia successfully fulfilling its role as ASEAN Chair in 2015.

Regarding the South China Sea issue, the two leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, freedom, security, and safety of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea; supported ASEAN's common position as expressed in the ASEAN Six-Point Declaration on the Principles of the South China Sea; resolved disputes peacefully, in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); fully and seriously implemented the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and strived to achieve the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) as soon as possible.

The two leaders pledged to continue cooperating to enhance ASEAN's central role in regional peace and security issues, including the South China Sea issue.

Regarding the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP), the two Prime Ministers agreed to continue to coordinate closely and support each other, promoting the conclusion of negotiations while ensuring flexibility, reasonable transition periods, and technical assistance to enhance the implementation capacity of developing countries.

The Ministries of Agriculture of the two countries signed a cooperation agreement.

Building on the robust development of the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Malaysia, the two Prime Ministers agreed to move towards elevating the relationship to a new level – a strategic partnership – for the benefit of the people of both countries, and for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

In that spirit, the two leaders agreed to assign the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both countries as the focal point, along with relevant ministries and agencies, to promptly exchange views on the specific content of the strategic partnership and submit it to the high-level leaders of both countries in the near future.

Prime Minister Najib Razak invited Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to pay an official visit to Malaysia at a suitable time so that the two sides could formally upgrade their relationship to a strategic partnership. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung happily accepted the invitation and instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to arrange a suitable time for the visit.

At the conclusion of the talks, the two sides issued a joint statement on the results of the visit.

Following the talks, the two Prime Ministers also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on agricultural cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry of Malaysia.

According to chinhphu.vn