KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on Friday represented the Malaysian government, paying his last respects and attending the state funeral of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi.
“I also have the opportunity to express my condolences to the family of the deceased and all the people of Vietnam for the passing of the deceased,“ said Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation through a post on the X platform.
Joining Fadillah at the National Funeral Home were Deputy Secretary-General (Bilateral Relations) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Datuk Ahmad Rozian Abd Ghani, and Malaysian ambassador to Vietnam, Datuk Tan Yang Thai.
Trong, 80, reportedly died of old age.
Fadillah also shared a post that said Trong, who has led the party since 2011, is the first leader to hold three consecutive mandates in the post after the country’s economic liberalisation in 1986.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, Fadillah made a working visit to Vietnam from July 25 to 26 as a representative of the Malaysian government to the state funeral.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is also known as Wisma Putra, said the visit underlined Malaysia’s commitment to continue maintaining strong diplomatic relations with Vietnam, while respecting the legacy left by Trong.
