The third meeting of the Vietnam-Malaysia trade joint committee tookplace in Kuala Lumpur on April 25, targeting measures to furtherintensify economic and trade cooperation.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and MalaysianMinister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohammed chairedthe event.

The two sides agreed that economicpolicies hold great significance to bilateral trade. To createfavourable conditions for business and investment, they suggested twocountries reduce or eliminate trade barriers and simplify administrativeprocedures.

The two ministers discussed thesigning of a memorandum of understanding on the pharmaceutical field,measures to boost collaboration between the Malaysia External TradeDevelopment Corporation and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency,particularly in exchange of trade delegations and participation in fairsand exhibitions.

The meeting also highlightedthe importance of the ASEAN Economic Community, which will be formed bythe end of this year and create a common market in the ten-state bloc,as well as the need to strengthen cooperation and involvement inregional and multi-lateral forums and mechanisms such as theTrans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC) and the World Trade Organisation.

According to the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade andIndustry, in 2014, Vietnam was the 14th biggest trade partner in theworld and the fourth among the ASEAN countries of Malaysia.

Two-way trade reached 9 billion USD last year, of which 4.3 billion USD came from Malaysia’s exports.

The two countries agreed to bring the trade to 15 billion USD or more by 2020.-VNA