KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Vietnam will strengthen cooperation in the tourism and cultural sectors, including efforts to develop medical and halal tourism, said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
He said the matter was discussed during a meeting with Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh on the sidelines of the 13th Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in Macao, China.
“Thanh shared that Malaysia and Vietnam have many common strengths in tourism, culture and the arts. She expressed interest in Malaysia’s development of medical tourism and halal tourism, and looked forward to greater exchanges and closer collaboration between both countries,” he said in a Facebook post today.
Reaffirming Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening long-standing ties with Vietnam, Tiong said tourism remains a key bridge connecting both peoples, with strong potential for further collaboration in promotion, cultural exchanges, business events and industry partnerships.
“We also agreed that, while visitor exchanges between our two countries continue to grow, there remains considerable potential that can be further unlocked through stronger joint promotion, closer industry collaboration and the development of more attractive tourism experiences.
“Malaysia values Vietnam as an important ASEAN partner. I look forward to building on this positive momentum and working more closely together to create new opportunities for our tourism industries, strengthen people-to-people ties and deliver greater mutual benefits for both countries,” Tiong said.
Tiong said Thanh had invited Malaysia to participate in several major events in Vietnam this year and next year, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)-related programmes, the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) in Hanoi, a high-level dialogue on culture and creative industries, and an international cultural festival. – BERNAMA
