This is the second official visit to Vietnam by PM Hun Sen within one year since Cambodia established its sixth-tenure government in September 2018. The official visit to Vietnam by PM Hun Sen affirms that Cambodia and Vietnam always attach great importance and give high priority to further strengthening the "good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation" between the two countries.
Vietnam and Cambodia have a long-standing and traditional relationship. Experiencing the ups and downs of history, the people of the two countries have always been committed to sharing joys and sorrows, cooperating and supporting each other in the cause of national liberation and construction. The solidarity and bond has been constantly preserved and nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries.
The Vietnamese people sincerely congratulate the great achievements made by the Cambodian people under the rule of King Norodom Sihamoni and the leadership of the Royal Government. Cambodia is actively implementing Phase 4 of the Rectangular Strategy, which focuses on comprehensive socio-economic reforms and strengthening integration towards becoming a high middle-income country by 2030 and high-income one by 2050.
We are pleased to see that the political relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia continues to develop well. The two sides often exchange delegations at all levels. Of which, the state visit to Cambodia by Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong in February 2019 opened a new page in the history of solidarity, traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia.
The two countries also collaborated to organise many meaningful activities to mark the 40th anniversary of Vietnam’s victory in the southwestern border defence war and the joint victory over the genocidal regime (January 7, 1979 - 2019). The two Prime Ministers of both countries also hold regular meetings at multilateral forums. The two sides successfully organised the 17th meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on economic, cultural, scientific and technical cooperation in August 2019.
Economic, trade and investment cooperation is a highlight in the relationship between the two countries. The two-way trade turnover reached approximately US$4.8 billion in 2018. Regarding investment, Vietnam has 214 investment projects in Cambodia with total registered capital of over US$3.3 billion, ranking among the top five countries with the largest investment capital in Cambodia. Investment and business activities of Vietnamese enterprises in Cambodia are highly appreciated by Cambodian leaders and have made positive contributions to Cambodia's social welfare.
Vietnam and Cambodia also pay attention to promoting cooperation in the field of defence, security and border management. The two sides completed the initial signing of two legal documents acknowledging the achieved results of the border demarcation and border marker planting. The two sides also agreed on the agenda and the plan to organise a conference to review the border demarcation and border marker planting from 2006 to the present and the organisation of a signing ceremony of the two aforementioned legal documents. This is an important political event in the Vietnam-Cambodia relations and a historic milestone in the process of addressing the land border issue between the two countries after many years of negotiations.
Cooperation in education - training, healthcare, tourism and others has also been strengthened. Vietnam and Cambodia have coordinated well in regional and international cooperation frameworks such as the United Nations, ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), and the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle.
Despite complicated developments in the region and the world, Vietnam-Cambodia relations continue to achieve great strides, becoming an important factor in helping to create a peaceful and stable environment as well as promoting socio-economic development in each country. The official visit to Vietnam by Cambodian PM Hun Sen aims to affirm the efforts and determination of the leaders and peoples of the two countries to foster and deepen the “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation" between Vietnam and Cambodia for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries as well as for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
