The two nations pledged to continue working closely together to maintain peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and to promote peaceful settlement of disputes, Vietnam Communist Party chief To Lam said in a joint briefing with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya.
Anwar said that both sides have agreed to explore the possibility of joint efforts in the fishing industry, enabling Malaysia and Vietnam to collaborate based on trust and friendship.
The nations have overlapping claims in the highly contested South China Sea.
Malaysia recently lodged a rare protest over Vietnam’s island-building programme in the Spratly Islands, according to a Reuters report.
The waters are at the centre of a long-standing territorial dispute involving China, Brunei, Taiwan as well as the Philippines.
“The relationship will be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership that will help open a new chapter for cooperation between the two countries for peace and stability,” Lam added.
The two Asean nations have benefitted from a diversification of supply chains away from China and will be watching closely to see what steps Donald Trump takes when it comes to trade and tariffs.
Bilateral trade will be boosted to at least US$18 billion (over RM80 billion) a year, Lam said.
Malaysia is Vietnam’s second largest trade partner in Asean and the third largest foreign investor among Asean countries, according to Vietnam’s government.
Malaysian companies were behind more than 700 projects in Vietnam last year, with investments totalling US$13 billion, Anwar said.
Before the briefing, the leaders witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding to strengthen collaboration in promoting trade, as well as a memorandum of cooperation between Petronas and PetroVietnam in the renewable energy sector.
This marks Lam’s first official trip to Malaysia since his election as general secretary in August and marks the first time a Communist Party chief has visited the nation since 1994.