KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has invited investors from Vietnam to look to Malaysia for investment and gave the assurance of the unity government to facilitate investment matters in this country.

He extended the invitation at a meeting with the business community in the Malaysia-Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi on the second day of his official visit to the country today.

"I am confident and believe that the cordial ties between Malaysia and Vietnam will open up more opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in various fields,” he said in a post on his official Facebook page today.

The Prime Minister and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail arrived in Hanoi yesterday evening for an official visit at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh and departed for the federal capital this evening.

In this regard, Anwar, who is also the finance minister, expressed his appreciation to Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz for his efforts in attracting investors to Malaysia.

In a separate Facebook post, the Prime Minister said before returning to the federal capital, he and his delegation also paid a courtesy call on the President of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong.

"I have expressed my satisfaction with the close relationship between Malaysia and Vietnam.

"There is no denying that the two countries have strong economic cooperation and I believe there are still many new cooperation opportunities that can be explored by both countries, especially in the field of agriculture and the halal industry,” he said.

Anwar who has a busy schedule in Hanoi said that during the meeting he also took the opportunity to explain the country’s new policies to Thuong and invited him to visit Malaysia in the near future.

Apart from that, Anwar said he and the delegation also paid a courtesy visit to the President of the Vietnamese House of Representatives Vuong Dinh Hue and conveyed the desire of Dewan Rakyat Malaysia to intensify relations to encourage closer cooperation through dialogue and exchange of information.

"I also stated the need for Malaysia and Vietnam to continue to work together and share expertise in the fields they master so as to benefit from each other.

"May the relationship between Malaysia and Vietnam continue to be strengthened in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries,” he said. — Bernama