PETRONAS-PETROVIETNAM COOPERATION EXPECTED TO BE FORMALISED IN MAY -- PM ANWAR

HANOI, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed hope that the cooperation between national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) in the maritime border area of both countries will be formalised in May this year.

He stated that the cooperation between Petronas and Petrovietnam involves investments worth tens of billions of ringgit, which will provide returns to both countries.

"We will finalise it, meaning the agreement (between Petronas and Petrovietnam) is expected to be signed in May," he told the Malaysian media at a press conference here today after delivering the keynote address at the second ASEAN Future Forum organised by Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Petronas Group president and CEO Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz also joined the Malaysian delegation during the Prime Minister's two-day working visit to Vietnam and was involved in a breakfast meeting with the Vietnamese delegation, led by the country's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh earlier this morning. Also present at the two-day forum, which ended today, were the Prime Minister of Vietnam, the Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon, and the President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos Horta.

Earlier, in a Facebook post, Anwar said that Petronas and Petrovietnam would accelerate cooperation in the energy sector in Vietnam, covering upstream and downstream activities, gas, and renewable energy.

The two countries' oil companies, he said, are actively driving cooperation in power generation and the grid connection from Vietnam to Malaysia, with a focus on the renewable energy sector.

At the press conference with Malaysian media, the prime minister also did not rule out the possibility that the ASEAN Energy Grid initiative may extend to southern Philippines. "The ASEAN Energy Grid, which should be from Vietnam to the seabed of Kelantan and continuing south; or from land to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Peninsula Malaysia and on to Singapore with its network (covering) Indonesia, Sarawak and Sabah, and possibly southern Philippines. That is why our relationship with Vietnam is critical," he said.

The total trade between Malaysia and Vietnam in 2024 increased by 4.4 per cent to US$18.14 billion (RM83.11 billion) from US$17.38 billion the previous year, reflecting the growth in trade between the two ASEAN member countries.

Vietnam is Malaysia's 11th largest trading partner in 2024, contributing 2.9 per cent to Malaysia's total trade. It is also Malaysia's 10th largest export destination, contributing 3.6 per cent, and the 13th largest source of imports, making up 2.1 per cent of Malaysia's imports. 

-- BERNAMA