HANOI, April 3 — Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is scheduled to arrive here tonight on a three-day official visit to boost bilateral relations. 

Najib, who is in Perth where he had a first-hand look at the search conducted out of the western Australian city for a Malaysian airliner missing in the southern Indian Ocean, is scheduled to fly in to the Noi Bai International Airport at 9pm (10pm in Malaysia).

In this first visit to Vietnam after he became the prime minister in 2009, Najib is also expected to look into enhancing trade between the two countries, according to Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Datuk Azmil Mohd Zabidi.

The envoy said Najib would be accorded an official welcome tomorrow and would call on his counterpart, Nguyen Tan Dung, at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“The prime minister will then perform Friday prayers at the Annur Mosque and then launch the US$3-billion (RM9.8 billion) Gamuda City development and housing project developed by Gamuda Berhad of Malaysia,” he told Malaysian journalists here yesterday.

Azmil said Najib would pay a courtesy call on the President of Vietnam, Truong Tan Sang, at the Presidential Palace.

The Malaysian prime minister is also scheduled to meet with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, after that. 

At night, Najib will meet and have dinner with the Malaysian community in Vietnam.

Najib is also scheduled to meet with Malaysian investors and local industry players to discuss opportunities for investment in both countries.

Azmil said Malaysia-Vietnam trade hit US$10.25 billion last year, up from US$9.03 billion in the previous year.

Malaysian national oil corporation Petronas is the biggest Malaysian investor in Vietnam, having ventured into the country’s oil and gas sector. — Bernama