The visit takes place within the Vietnam – Cambodia Friendship Year, marking the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries (1967-2022).
As two neighbouring countries located on the Indochinese peninsula and in the lower Mekong region, Vietnam and Cambodia have a long-standing and traditional friendship that has been cultivated and developed by the leaders and people of many generations.
Implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of international relations, Vietnam and Cambodia have constantly consolidated and strengthened bilateral relations under the motto of good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability.
In past years when the two countries stood shoulder to shoulder in the fights for their independence as well as the cause of national construction and development, the neighbourly ties and comprehensive cooperation became a common asset of the two nations.
Over the years, Vietnam-Cambodia relations have increasingly developed, both in breadth and depth, bringing practical benefits to the two peoples while contributing to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment and development in each country as well as in the region and around the world.
The official visit to Vietnam by the high-ranking delegation of the Cambodian National Assembly, led by President Samdech Heng Samrin, is conducted in the context that the relationship between the two countries has been developed stably. The two nations’ political ties have been strengthened as their senior leaders have maintained contact through visits and exchanges in various forms.
The cooperation among agencies and localities from the two countries have been carried out more effectively. People-to-people exchanges, especially in border localities, have been held practically, contributing to improving the understanding of the two peoples, especially the younger generations, about the long-standing solidarity, friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the two countries.
Economic and trade relations between Vietnam and Cambodia maintained positive growth momentum. Their two-way trade turnover reached 9.54 billion USD in 2021, up 79.1% over 2020, and totalled 7.08 billion USD in the past seven months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%.
Vietnam currently has 188 valid investment projects in Cambodia, with total capital of 2.8 billion USD. Vietnam maintains the lead in ASEAN and among top five countries in the world with the largest direct investment in Cambodia. Vietnam's assistance activities to Cambodia have been conducted effectively.
Their cooperation in defence, security and border as well as education-training, science-technology and tourism has been promoted. In the first three months of 2022, the number of Vietnamese tourists ranked first out of three countries with the largest numbers of visitors to Cambodia.
The cooperation between the two legislative bodies of the two countries has developed well on both bilateral and multilateral levels. The two sides have maintained meetings of high-level delegations to share experiences as well as exchanges between agencies of the National Assembly and friendship parliamentarians’ groups. The two sides have strengthened coordination in promoting and supervising the implementation of cooperation agreements between the two countries, contributing to enhancing a deeper and more substantive, effective and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia.
Marking the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Cambodia, the two countries chose 2022 as the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Year and have coordinated with each other to organise many exciting activities.
The two countries' senior leaders exchanged congratulatory letters on the occasion of such an important event in the history of Vietnam-Cambodia relations. In their letters, Vietnamese leaders emphasised that in all challenges, the two peoples have always united and supported each other and the friendship has become a valuable common asset that should be preserved and cultivated. Vietnam always believes that the neighbourly relationship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries will continue to develop for the sake of the two nations as well as for the peace, stability, cooperation and development of the region and the world.
For their parts, Cambodian leaders affirmed that the friendship between the two countries has a long history which has been constantly consolidated in the spirit of good neighbourliness, solidarity, trust and cooperation for mutual benefit. Cambodia-Vietnam relations will continue to develop in a strong, deep and comprehensive manner.
As an important activity in the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Year, the official visit to Vietnam by Cambodian NA leader Samdech Heng Samrin affirmed that the two countries always attach great importance to and cultivate the good neighbourliness, long-standing friendship and comprehensive and long-term sustainable cooperation between the two nations. The two nations will continue to develop their cooperation more deeply, practically and effectively, for the sake of the two peoples as well as the peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
