HCMC — Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to raise two-way trade to US$20 billion in the coming years.
During a meeting in Hanoi on April 28, Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Cambodia’s Minister of Commerce Cham Nimul reaffirmed economic and trade ties as a key pillar of bilateral cooperation.
Dien said that while trade, particularly cross-border commerce, has made significant progress, challenges persist and require closer coordination. He called for more professional, in-depth trade promotion programs aligned with business needs to better tap market potential and ensure balanced and sustainable trade growth.
The ministers agreed to strengthen collaboration by improving logistics infrastructure, shifting informal border trade to formal channels, and combating smuggling and trade fraud.
Vietnam and Cambodia also plan to increase trade promotion activities, enhance business linkages, and expand technical cooperation to avoid unnecessary trade disputes.
Cambodia invited Vietnamese businesses to participate in upcoming international trade fairs and proposed the establishment of a Vietnam-Cambodia Bilateral Trade Cooperation Committee.
After the meeting, the two ministers signed a 2025-2026 agreement aimed at boosting trade. The deal offers greater tariff incentives for key goods than those provided under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).
Two-way trade between Vietnam and Cambodia reached US$10.1 billion in 2024, up 17.5% from a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2025, bilateral trade rose 10.2% year-on-year to US$3.2 billion.
Vietnam is Cambodia’s third-largest trading partner globally, after China and the U.S., and its largest trading partner within ASEAN. Cambodia ranks as Vietnam’s fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN.
