HCMC – Vietnam and Cambodia vowed to deepen their bilateral relations during Vietnamese President To Lam’s two-day state visit to the neighboring country, which concluded today, July 13.
President Lam paid the visit at the invitation of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Cambodia was the second leg of Lam’s first foreign tour in his capacity as Head of State of Vietnam. He earlier visited Laos.
The President and the King met in Phnom Penh on the afternoon of July 12 to discuss ways to step up ties between the two countries.
King Norodom Sihamoni said the visit indicated that the Vietnamese Party and State, as well as the President, attach importance to bilateral relations, and marked a new milestone in intensifying the good neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability in Vietnam-Cambodia relations.
The King took this occasion to express his deep gratitude to the Vietnamese State and people for assisting the Cambodian people to escape from the genocidal regime in the past and develop the country at present.
He affirmed that he will continue supporting the good traditional friendship between the two countries as his father, late King Norodom Sihanouk, used to do.
President Lam emphasized that Vietnam always treasures and gives the top priority to the enhancement and development of its ties with Cambodia.
Generations of Vietnamese leaders and people always appreciate the good sentiment along with precious support and assistance from late King Norodom Sihanouk and generations of Cambodian leaders and people for Vietnam during the struggle for national independence in the past and the current cause of national construction and development, Lam said.
Both expressed hope that in the coming time, the two sides will increase all-level delegation exchanges and meetings; foster economic, trade, investment, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation, and people-to-people ties; and properly settle outstanding problems in the spirit of friendly neighborliness, solidarity, and cohesion.
President Lam invited King Norodom Sihamoni to pay a visit to Vietnam in 2024. The King appreciated the invitation, noting that he will visit Vietnam in the near future.
On the same day, President Lam met with President of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and President of the Senate Hun Sen in Phnom Penh.
Congratulating the CPP on its great success at the recent elections and Hun Sen on his election as President of the Senate, Lam appreciated Hun Sen’s precious sentiment towards and key role in the maintenance and development of the friendly neighborliness and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.
Hun Sen underlined Vietnam’s assistance and sacrifice that helped his country to escape from the Pol Pot genocidal regime and revive.
To develop bilateral relations more strongly in the future, both sides agreed to actively realize the high-level agreements and results of the high-level meetings between the two Parties.
Today President Lam met with President of the Cambodian National Assembly (NA) Khuon Sudary.
Lam congratulated Cambodia on its successful organization of the 5th Senate election on February 25, and the municipal, provincial, town and district council elections for the fourth term on May 26, noting the victory of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in the elections demonstrates public confidence in and support for the Party under the leadership of its President Hun Sen.
Sudary took the occasion to inform that the Cambodian NA’s new building, a gift from Vietnam, is expected to be put into operation soon.
Both spoke highly of collaboration between the two legislatures in the implementation of the agreement inked in November 2022, and in the organization of the first Cambodia – Laos – Vietnam (CLV) Parliamentary Summit in December 2023, creating a foundation for the legislative ties among the three countries to grow strongly, while tightening their traditional friendship and solidarity.
They will also work harder to build a shared borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and sustainable development, and carry forward the role of the two NAs in forging bilateral ties, particularly in building institutions and perfecting legal systems to facilitate economic connectivity as well as the expansion of collaboration in education-training and other areas.
President Lam held talks today with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. During the talks, Lam expressed his delight at his first state visit to Cambodia in his new position and respectfully conveyed the best regards of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other high-ranking leaders of Vietnam to Cambodian PM Hun Manet.
Lam said he believed that Cambodia will achieve the goal of becoming a high-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the strong development of the two countries’ relations across spheres, bringing benefits to the people of each country.
Vietnam is one of Cambodia’s major trade partners, with their two-way trade target of US$20 billion expected to be attained soon.
Discussing ways to promote bilateral relations in the future, the two agreed on major directions, notably continuing to maintain and strengthen political trust; cooperating closely to preserve and promote solidarity between the two countries; enhancing regular exchanges of visits and contacts at all levels across all channels; well implementing signed commitments, agreements, treaties and cooperation mechanisms; strengthening connections and coordination in communication activities to help people, especially the young generation, understand the solidarity and close relationship between the two countries.
The two sides committed to further deepening defense and security cooperation; following the principle of not allowing hostile forces to use a country’s territory to sabotage the other; cooperating more closely in high-tech and cross-border crime prevention and control, continuing to build a borderline of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development; and supporting each other in training personnel and improving law enforcement capacity.
Regarding connecting the two economies, the two sides agreed to promote the implementation of the signed agreements such as the memorandum of understanding on developing and connecting Vietnam-Cambodia border trade infrastructure, and the agreement on promoting bilateral trade in the 2025-2026 period; step up transport connectivity via border gates, actively coordinate with Laos to deploy “A journey, three destinations” travel packages through Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; effectively operate the new Hanoi-Phnom Penh direct air link launched by Vietnam Airlines.
As President Lam affirmed Vietnam encourages businesses to increase investment in Cambodia, PM Hun Manet pledged to continue to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese investors in Cambodia.
They will coordinate well in implementing signed border-related treaties, agreements and agreements; continue to negotiate and find fair and reasonable solutions to promote the settlement of areas with incomplete demarcation in the near future; strengthen cooperation to prevent cross-border human trafficking and drug smuggling, and ensure security and safety for people in border provinces.
The two sides will continue to coordinate to resolve arising issues in the spirit of solidarity and friendship, focusing on building and developing the border gate system, ensuring smooth transport connections in both sides of the borderline to promote the socio-economic development of the two countries in general and border localities in particular, as well as effectively participate in regional connectivity initiatives.
