Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : THE CULTURAL PALACE, HANOI, VIETNAM
Tarikh/Date : 19/04/92
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL DINNER HOSTED BY H.E.
MR. VO VAN KIET, CHAIRMAN OF THE
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Your Excellency Mr. Vo Van Kiet,
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
Madame Cam,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I wish first of all to thank you for your very warm
words of welcome and for the generous hospitality accorded
to me, my wife and the many members of my delegation. I am
indeed very happy to be here in Vietnam to return your visit
and renew our friendship and see for myself the dynamic
changes that are taking place in this country. May I also
express our sincere appreciation to you, Excellency, for the
excellent arrangements made for this visit, which is my
first to Vietnam. I look forward to enjoying the charm and
beauty of this country and continuing the dialogue we had
established.
2. When we met just a few months ago during your official
visit to Malaysia we had very useful exchanges of views on
the whole spectrum of our bilateral relations as well as re-
gional and international issues of mutual concern. I am
confident that my visit to Vietnam will enhance the close
friendship and cooperation between our two countries. I am
happy that the seeds we have sown thus far in our economic
cooperation are beginning to bear fruit. The volume of
trade between our two countries has increased substantially
over the last two years and several major Malaysian corpo-
rate groups such as PETRONAS, Public Bank and Golden Hope
have already established their presence in Vietnam. This
evidence of growing confidence in Vietnam is the result of
the pragmatic economic policy being pursued by the govern-
ment of Vietnam under Your Excellency's leadership.
3. Though progress in the field of trade and economic co-
operation has been encouraging, vast potentials are yet to
be tapped. We must continue to build upon the success we
have achieved for our mutual benefit. The fact that I have
brought with me a large delegation from the private sector
bears testimony to the seriousness of our desire to see re-
lations between our two countries accelerate to greater
heights. It is my hope that Malaysian entrepreneurs and
businessmen would be accepted as genuine and sincere part-
ners in the economic development of Vietnam.
Your Excellency,
4. In the course of your noble efforts to develop Vietnam
economically, you would require enormous amounts of capital
and trained manpower. I pledge to you today, as I have done
so during your last visit to our country, Malaysia's read-
iness to share with Vietnam our development experience and
to provide assistance in the field of rubber technology,
management, administration and technical training. We do so
in the spirit of friendship and cooperation and in the firm
belief that economically stable and prosperous neighbours
will contribute positively to the peace and security of the
whole region. We also do so in the firm conviction that
present-day Vietnam is sincere in wanting to live in peace
and cooperation with its neighbours and participate fully as
a responsible member of the Southeast Asian community.
5. Recent developments in the world have convinced us that
countries in the region have no choice but to work together
closely. The end of the East-West confrontation and the
emergence in Europe and the Americas of new political and
economic groupings, each concerned with its own regional in-
terest first, make it all the more necessary and urgent for
all of us in Southeast and East Asia to come together and
plan for the future on a regional basis. Failure to do so
would only put us at a disadvantage. It is for this reason
that we in ASEAN have agreed to strengthen our cooperation
by taking definitive steps to bring into realisation the
ASEAN Free Trade Arrangement within 15 years. Other insti-
tutional arrangements have also been agreed upon to ensure
that ASEAN becomes a truly effective organisation to meet
future challenges, guarantee development, peace and stabil-
ity in the region.
6. While we are confident that the ASEAN six would be able
to play the role it is envisaged, we believe that an ASEAN
10, comprising the present six member states and all other
Southeast Asian countries, would provide a truly formidable
force of peace, progress and stability in the entire region.
We in Malaysia envision the establishment of a prosperous
community of Southeast Asian nations linked together by a
strong commitment to cooperate for peace, progress and sta-
bility, where people travel freely to each other's country,
where trade and investment flow with little or no re-
striction, and where common institutions exist to train our
scholars and scientists so as to be at par with those of de-
veloped countries.
7. We are encouraged by the fact that Vietnam and Laos are
now ready to sign the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation
and we hope that it would not be too long before both coun-
tries could be full members of ASEAN. That Vietnam has been
able to forge closer relations with its ASEAN neighbours
over the last few years speaks highly of the statesmanship
and pragmatism of the country's leadership. We are glad the
days of confrontation and conflict over the Cambodian issue
are behind us and that we can now devote our efforts towards
the betterment of our peoples' lives. Let the events of the
past be lessons for the future. Never again should we allow
conflicts and confrontation to arise and stultify our re-
lations.
Your Excellency,
8. There remains only two outstanding issues to be re-
solved between us - namely the question of Vietnamese boat-
people in Malaysia and the overlapping claim in the South
China Sea. We had agreed in Kuala Lumpur to settle these
issues peacefully by negotiations. We are confident that
with the friendship and spirit of understanding that exist
among us today, these issues could be settled quickly in the
manner we had envisaged together.
9. As we look to the future with hope and confidence, let
us continue to strengthen the foundation of our relations so
that mutually beneficial ties will develop in every possible
fields. In this regard, it is a matter of great satisfac-
tion to me that tomorrow we shall be signing the Post and
Telecommunication Agreement as well as the Economic, Scien-
tific and Technical Cooperation Agreement which will bring
our two countries even closer. I am confident the Joint
Commission that we have agreed to establish will provide an
efficient mechanism to manage our cooperative endeavours.
Your Excellency,
10. When you paid us a visit in January this year, you
brought with you a cultural team to entertain our people and
demonstrate the richness of Vietnam's cultural tradition. I
am happy to be able to reciprocate your kind gesture by also
bringing a Malaysian cultural team to Vietnam to entertain
you and the people of this country. I hope you will enjoy
the show.
11. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, may I in-
vite you to rise and join me in a toast to the good health
of H.E. Vo Chi Cong, President of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam and H.E, Vo Van Kiet, Chairman of the Council of
Ministers and Madam Cam and to the continuing friendship be-
tween Malaysia and Vietnam.
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