Announcement of establishing the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association

Tran Viet Thai, the Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia, presented Ms. Tran Thi Chang with a letter of congratulation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to a VNA reporter in Kuala Lumpur, Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia Tran Viet Thai and Vietnamese representative offices in Malaysia were present at the ceremony. Mr. Theng Bee Han, Chairman of the Malaysian Business Association in Vietnam; Professor Mohd Azhari Yakub, former Director of the National Heart Institute of Malaysia, advisor to the Friendship Society, and Malaysian donors were on the Malaysian side.

The Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association is the representative organization of the Vietnamese community in Malaysia, acting as a bridge between the Vietnamese community in Malaysia and the Embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia, according to a decision signed by the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs on 8th March 2022. The association's activities aim to promote and deepen cooperation between the people of the two countries, as well as between Vietnamese and Malaysian agencies and unions; improve cooperation between the two countries in the fields of politics, economy, and socio-culture; promote mutual visits to exchange initiatives and implement projects that benefit the people of both countries; and propagate and support Vietnamese people in complying with the laws of the host country.

Tran Thi Chang, Chairwoman of the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association, spoke at the ceremony.

Ms. Tran Thi Chang, Chairwoman of the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association, stated during the ceremony that the Vietnamese community living, working, and studying in Malaysia is a strong community with great potential. Many are married to Malaysians and consider Malaysia to be their second home. The Vietnamese community has always received various assistance from the Embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia, the Malaysian government, and Malaysian benefactors, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ambassador Tran Viet Thai expressed his appreciation for Ms. Tran Thi Chang's role in charitable activities for the Vietnamese community in Malaysia, particularly the recent COVID-19 vaccination program, and expressed hope that the association will further connect and promote the relationship between the two countries. Ambassador Tran Viet Thai also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to individuals and organizations such as the Malaysian Red Cross and Our Journey Charity Program for consistently accompanying Ms. Tran Thi Chang in charitable activities for Vietnamese people. Ambassador Tran Viet Thai also sent congratulatory letters from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia to the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association on behalf of the Vietnamese government.

Ambassador Tran Viet Thai poses for a photo with Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association members.

Previously, the association received letters of congratulations from the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations.

Tran Thi Chang was born in Ha Nam in 1962. She has been working in Malaysia since 1993 as part of a collaboration program between the two countries' Ministries of Health. She was accepted by Kuala Lumpur Hospital shortly after the partnership ended. She began working at the National Heart Institute Malaysia in 1998 and has remained there to this day. She has always been concerned about the Vietnamese community, having founded the Vietnamese Women's Association, the Vietnamese Language Club, the Vietnamese Liaison Committee, and now the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association in Malaysia.