(VOVworld) – Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received Malaysian King Apdul Halim Muadzam Shah in Hanoi on Friday as part of his ongoing state visit to Vietnam. Party leader Trong hailed the visit amid celebrations marking 40 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries and expressed his hope that the visit would help to foster friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Malaysia. He called for increased exchanges of high-ranking delegations and strengthened cooperation in trade, investment, education, culture, and tourism. The party leader reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of developing relations with regional countries including Malaysia bilaterally and multilaterally for their mutual benefit and for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

 The same day, a ceremony to welcome the Malaysian King was held at the Presidential Palace. During talks with President Truong Tan Sang, King Apdul Halim Muadzam Shah expressed his admiration at Vietnam’s development and congratulated the Vietnamese people on their National Day, September 2^nd. The two sides praised bilateral cooperation in recent years and discussed regional and global issues of mutual concern. President Sang called for mutual support and cooperation in regional and international forums such as ASEAN, ASEM, APEC, and the UN.