“Prime Minister Calls on Businesses to Embrace Their Role as Connectors Within ASEAN and Between Vietnam and Malaysia.”

This was an opportunity for both sides to share their orientations and development strategies, promote cooperation, and explore new investment and business opportunities between the two countries’ business communities. This will contribute to deepening, substantiating, and enhancing the effectiveness of the Vietnam – Malaysia relationship.

Vietnamese tech startups are thriving

At the meeting, participants assessed that after more than 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations (1973-2025) and ten years of Strategic Partnership (2015-2025), and now Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Vietnam – Malaysia relations have continuously developed in both breadth and depth in all fields and achieved remarkable achievements. Economic, trade, and investment cooperation hold an important position and are always promoted.

In terms of trade, Malaysia is currently Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner within ASEAN (after Thailand) and the ninth-largest in the world. Malaysia is also Vietnam’s third-largest export market in ASEAN (after Thailand and Cambodia). Malaysia-Vietnam bilateral trade in 2024 reached 18.14 billion USD, up 4.4% compared to 2023.

Regarding investment, Malaysia is the third-largest ASEAN investor in Vietnam (after Singapore and Thailand), ranking 10th out of 150 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 770 valid projects and a total registered capital of 13.6 billion USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam currently has 27 investment projects in Malaysia, with a total registered capital of 855 million USD.

The two countries are also members of many important regional organizations, forums, and free trade agreements (FTAs), including ASEAN+, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The delegates highly appreciated Vietnam’s continuous improvement in its investment and business environment, which has been positively evaluated by the international community and investors. Many foreign investors have chosen Vietnam as their strategic production hub, connecting with global supply chains. In the first four months of 2025, realized FDI reached over 6.7 billion USD, the highest in the 2020-2025 period, indicating that Vietnam remains an attractive destination for international investors.

Mr. Tan Sri Dato’ Soh Thian La, former President of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and current President of the Malaysian Manufacturers Federation; Mr. Nivas Ragavan, President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor; and Mr. Datuk Ng Yih Pyng, President of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, all agreed that the relationship between the two countries is growing closer and more dynamic, and there are many opportunities to expand cooperation in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, digital transformation, and green transition.

The delegates emphasized that Vietnam is a very important country in the region, and its strong development brings joy to the Malaysian business community. They added that Vietnam’s investment environment is becoming increasingly innovative and safe. Notably, Vietnamese tech startups are thriving in today’s market.

Vietnamese Government’s commitments to investors

Speaking at the program, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that the world situation is currently evolving rapidly, complexly, and unpredictably. Many countries are changing their policies, and many issues are transnational, comprehensive, and global, which no country can solve alone.

In this context, the Prime Minister emphasized the message that there is no other way but to strengthen solidarity among nations and businesses, uphold multilateralism, and jointly address global issues, including those of one’s own country and business, contributing to promoting progress, social equality, and equitable development among nations. No one should be left behind.

The Prime Minister informed that after 40 years of renovation, Vietnam has risen from a poor, underdeveloped agricultural country ravaged by war, embargoes, and blockades to become one of the 34 largest economies in the world. Vietnam is among the world’s top FDI attraction destinations, with 17 FTAs involving 60 economies. In 2024, despite challenges and difficulties, Vietnam achieved important results, becoming a bright spot in the region’s and the world’s economic growth (over 7%). The country’s economic scale reached 476.3 billion USD, with stable macroeconomics and controlled inflation.

In the first months of 2025, amid complex and unpredictable regional and global developments, Vietnam continued to achieve important results. Looking ahead, Vietnam aims to achieve a GDP growth rate of at least 8% in 2025 and strives for double-digit growth in the following years. The country is building an independent, self-reliant economy associated with proactive, active, and effective international integration.

To achieve this goal, Vietnam is focusing on resolutely and synchronously implementing multiple groups of solutions to realize three strategic breakthroughs and remove bottlenecks and obstacles regarding institutions, human resources, and infrastructure. The direction is to create a “smooth institution, seamless infrastructure, and smart governance.” This includes perfecting the institutional system to be superior and harmonized with ASEAN and the world; promoting seamless infrastructure connectivity within provinces, regions, and with other countries; and training high-quality human resources and improving labor productivity.

Along with this, Vietnam is carrying out a revolution in organizational apparatus streamlining, promoting the reduction and simplification of administrative procedures and business conditions for domestic and foreign businesses and investors, cutting at least 30 procedures and compliance time and costs; and shifting from a passive to a proactive mindset in serving the people and businesses.

At the same time, Vietnam is promoting breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation; developing the private economy as the most critical driving force of the national economy; launching a movement for the whole nation to prosper; enhancing international integration in the new context; expanding relations with countries and international partners; indigenizing the essence of world culture and internationalizing the values and identity of Vietnamese culture.

Highlighting the excellent political and diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Prime Minister called on investors and businesses of the two countries to be proactive and active in contributing to promoting and concretizing these good relations, creating more material wealth.

The Prime Minister hoped that Malaysian businesses would continue to expand their investments and maintain their trust and attachment to Vietnam during its development process. He also hoped that they would continue to contribute to the prosperity of the two countries and the happiness and well-being of their people, in the spirit of the Vietnam – Malaysia Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity.

The Prime Minister requested that businesses promote connectivity within ASEAN, including between Vietnam and Malaysia, and boost green, circular, and renewable energy development, digital connectivity, data sharing, and creative economy. At the same time, they should renew traditional growth drivers such as investment, exports, and consumption. The Prime Minister emphasized that these are the businesses’ missions to diversify markets, products, and supply chains, supporting each other.

The Vietnamese Government commits to ensuring the property rights, freedom of business, and equal access to resources for enterprises and investors, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors; not criminalizing civil and economic relations, and prioritizing economic measures in handling cases. With the view of “saying goes with doing, commitment goes with action, doing goes with producing specific and effective results, harmonizing benefits, and sharing risks,” the Prime Minister emphasized the spirit of “3 Together,” including listening and understanding each other between businesses, the State, and the people.

Sharing a vision and taking actions to cooperate and support each other for rapid and sustainable development; doing, winning, enjoying, and developing together; and sharing joy, happiness, and pride.