HANOI: Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will pay an official visit to Malaysia from Aug 7-8 at the invitation of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

After Malaysia, Dung will travel to Singapore to attend a ceremony celebrating the country’s National Day on Aug 9 at the invitation of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Vietnam and Malaysia set up diplomatic ties in 1973 and signed a joint statement on the comprehensive cooperation framework in the 21st century in 2004.

The bilateral relationship has ceaselessly developed in various fields, including politics, economics, defence and security.

Their high-ranking leaders have exchanged many visits, especially President Truong Tan Sang’s visit to Malaysia in September 2011 and the Malaysian King’s visit to Vietnam in March 2009.

Malaysia is now Vietnam’s third largest trade partner within ASEAN, while Vietnam is the fifth biggest economic partner of Malaysia in the region.

Two-way trade between the two nations has recorded strong growth in recent years, from over US$4 billion in 2009 to more than US$9 billion five years later, and the figure is expected to reach US$11 billion this year.–BERNAMA

– http://www.nst.com.my/