HANOI, Aug 28 — Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday he is impressed with the development and progress that Vietnam has achieved today.
He said the Vietnamese people are hard-working and quick to learn, including high-technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), and this shows that they want to be successful.
He recalled the time when he visited Vietnam as the fourth Malaysian prime minister and said Vietnam then lagged far behind and the people used bicycles to move about.
“Today, we can see how Hanoi is thriving, with many industries and businesses. Also, in the short term, Vietnam has produced millionaires who have invested and manufacture cars and develop information technology.
“They have succeeded because they work and study hard. Vietnam has universities which teach AI to about 50,000 students. Our people do not want to study, even if you provide scholarships. If we do not study, we will become poor.
“Moreover, they (the Vietnamese) understand the use of money as capital to grow their businesses,” he told Malaysian journalists after concluding his three-day official visit to Vietnam.
Dr Mahathir said Vietnam created an industrial zone after emulating Malaysia’s initiative to step up investment in industries.
“At that time, Vietnam did not have an industrial park. We showed them our model and shared information. They invited the private sector to establish an industrial park and it has been quite successful,” he said.
Dr Mahathir had earlier visited the Noi Bai Industrial Zone (NBIZ) for which he had performed the groundbreaking in 1996 during a visit to Vietnam.
The NBIZ is governed by Noi Bai Development Corporation Limited (NBD), a Malaysia-Vietnam joint-venture company set up by Vista Spectrum Sdn Bhd and Urban Infrastructure Development Investment Corporation (UDIC).
The NBIZ is the first foreign-owned industrial zone in Hanoi. It was established with 100 hectares under the first phase and 14 hectares were added on in the second phase.
It now has 46 investors who have made available 22,000 job opportunities. They include four companies established on a joint venture between Malaysian and foreign companies. — Bernama
