At the meeting, Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc He highlighted Can Tho as the first-tier municipality, which is the hub of the Mekong Delta in terms of economic, cultural, and social aspects. Moreover, Can Tho City is an important traffic hub for regional transportation and international carriage, including water transportation systems, road transportation systems, and air transportation systems. It is also renowned for its strengths in rice, fruits, and aquaculture.

Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc He stated that the National Assembly of Vietnam has issued a resolution on piloting several specific mechanisms and policies to develop Can Tho rapidly and sustainably, soon becoming the center of the Mekong Delta region. Additionally, the Prime Minister of Vietnam has issued a decision to establish a Center for linkage, production, processing, and consumption of agricultural products in the Mekong Delta, which will be located in Can Tho City.

Malaysian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Viet Nam Dato' Tan Yang Thai (3rd from left), presented a gift to Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc He at the reception.

Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc He has stated that Can Tho City has been putting in efforts to maintain a positive relationship between Vietnam and Malaysia. Can Tho value the relationship with Malaysia as the city considers Malaysia an important and trustworthy friend in the Asian region. Therefore, Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc He wished that Malaysian firms would consider investing in the city, especially in sectors needing investment, such as food processing, hi-tech agriculture, logistics, human resources training, and smart technology. Furthermore, he also encouraged them to invest in the Center for linkage, production, processing, and consumption of agricultural products in the Mekong Delta, a project endorsed by the Prime Minister to be situated in Can Tho.

The city is committed to creating the most favorable conditions for Malaysian firms to invest there, with support policies and incentives, Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc He said.

At the reception.

Can Tho official also hoped that the Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam would act as a bridge to introduce a Malaysian locality that shares similarities with Can Tho City. This would enable both places to cooperate, become twinned, and create more favorable conditions for promoting solidarity and friendship between the people of the two countries.

Malaysian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Viet Nam Dato' Tan Yang Thai was impressed by the development of Can Tho City as the hub of the Mekong Delta and a major export channel for rice and agricultural products in the world. The Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam cited 2023 statistics that show Malaysia as the sixth largest importer of Vietnamese rice. He also emphasized Vietnam's crucial role in ensuring food security for Malaysia, particularly in light of the nation's limited capacity for food production.

Mr. Dato' Tan Yang Thai expressed his hope that following this meeting, both sides would increase the implementation of trade promotion, investment, and trade connection programs. This would create conditions for investors from both countries to have a better understanding of the investment environment, policies to attract foreign investment, and investment potential of each country. This would, in turn, contribute to increasing the possibility of investment and business cooperation between businesses from both countries. Moreover, he pledged to raise awareness among Malaysian people and businesses about the Vietnamese city's potential, beauty, and investment opportunities, urging them to explore investment prospects in the city.

According to Can Tho Municipal Department of External Affairs, the city now hosts one Malaysia-invested project valued at around 285,000 USD, which manufactures various roofing products and workshop frames.

Last year, Can Tho exported goods worth 35.9 million USD to Malaysia, mostly rice, aquatic products, processed farm produce, apparel, pharmaceuticals, and veterinary drugs. Conversely, imports from Malaysia were estimated at 0.28 million USD, primarily materials for pharmaceutical and garment-textile industries.