This marks the first official visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Malaysia in a decade and the first by a senior Vietnamese leader since bilateral ties were elevated to a Comprehensive strategic partnership.
The 46th ASEAN Summit and related meetings are the first high-level events of Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship, themed “Inclusive and Sustainable.”
The visit takes place as Vietnam-Malaysia relations enter a new stage of development following their elevation to a Comprehensive strategic partnership in November 2024, during Party General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Malaysia.
Cooperation has continued to flourish across various fields including politics, defence, and security, with effective high-level engagements and bilateral cooperation mechanisms maintained.
Economic ties remain robust. Malaysia is Viet Nam’s third-largest trading partner in ASEAN, ninth globally, and third-largest ASEAN investor in Viet Nam, ranking tenth among all foreign investors in the country.
Cooperation in labour, culture, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchange has been expanding. The two countries also closely coordinate positions at regional and international forums such as the UN, ASEAN, and APEC.
ASEAN is currently in the final year of implementing its 2025 Community Vision and preparing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, along with deepening cooperation strategies for a new development stage.
Amid complex global and regional shifts, ASEAN strives to maintain unity, centrality, and the momentum of internal and external cooperation while enhancing its ability to respond to non-traditional security challenges.
As ASEAN Chair, Malaysia’s 2025 theme “Inclusive and Sustainable” reflects its priorities: reinforcing ASEAN centrality, promoting inclusive and sustainable growth, reducing developmental gaps, and improving the quality of life for the region's people.
2025 also marks 30 years of Viet Nam’s ASEAN membership. Vietnam has made significant contributions to the bloc’s collective achievements, which in turn have supported its own development through nearly four decades of renewal.
Vietnam’s recent diplomatic activities—including General Secretary To Lam’s historic visit to the ASEAN Secretariat (November 2024), the elevation of ties with several regional countries, the successful hosting of the 2nd ASEAN Future Forum (February 2025), and the 4th P4G Summit (April 2025)—have further affirmed the country’s active and responsible role in promoting peace, cooperation, and development regionally and globally.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Malaysia is the first high-level exchange since the establishment of the Comprehensive strategic partnership, offering a crucial opportunity for leaders of both nations to align strategic visions and specific measures for implementing the new partnership framework.
The visit is expected to reinforce political trust and deepen bilateral cooperation across all areas—politics, diplomacy, defence, security, economy, trade and investment, labour, culture, tourism, and people-to-people ties—while opening new avenues in fields such as science and technology, digital and green economies, energy transition, and innovation.
Reaffirming Viet Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, diversification, and multilateralisation, the visit underscores Viet Nam’s consistent emphasis on relations with neighbouring countries and ASEAN, with Malaysia being a key economic partner.
It also reflects Viet Nam’s recognition of Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and its commitment to working closely with Malaysia and other member states to build a strong, inclusive, and sustainable ASEAN Community, and to uphold ASEAN centrality in regional structures.
During the ASEAN Summit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and fellow leaders will discuss strategic directions to further enhance cooperation, sustain ASEAN Community-building momentum, and bolster collective resilience and coordination to safeguard peace, stability, and prosperity.
The Prime Minister’s participation in this summit sends a strong message of support for the theme “Inclusive and Sustainable” and related cooperation initiatives. It reaffirms Viet Nam’s commitment to proactive, responsible ASEAN engagement and its consistent support for ASEAN’s principled stance on regional and international matters.
May Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse’s official visit to Malaysia and participation in the 46th ASEAN Summit be a success, contributing meaningfully to the Vietnam-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership and ASEAN’s future trajectory.
