Vietnamese PM begins official Brunei visit

This is the first visit to Brunei Chinh has made as Prime Minister, as well as the first official visit of a Vietnamese PM to Brunei in nearly 16 years.

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet, the visit aims to deepen the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

During Chinh’s visit at the invitation of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the two sides will work towards strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, security, defense, education, training, science and technology.

Vietnam and Brunei also look forward to cooperating in sustainable development and clean energy, while helping each other create better digital economies, green economies and circular economies.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the welcoming ceremony in Brunei. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Bac

Vietnam and Brunei established diplomatic relations on February 29, 1992, and promoted their relationship to a “comprehensive partnership” in March 2019.

Bilateral trade turnover reached $725.8 million in 2022, up 134% over the previous year, exceeding the 2025 target of $500 million set by the two countries.

As of December 2022, Brunei ranked 26th out of 141 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 157 effective projects totaling $971 million in registered capital. The projects are focused on the processing, manufacturing, construction and real estate trading industries.

Currently, there are about 300 Vietnamese living in Brunei.