Enhancing Vietnam – Cambodia traditional friendship and comprehensive co-operation

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) reviews the guards of honour during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi November 4, 2008. REUTERS/Kham

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived to Hanoi, starting an official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The visit happens at the time when Vietnam is hosting the fourth Cambodian-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam summit ( CLMV) and the third Ayeyawadi-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Co-operation Summit (ACMECS) in Hanoi from November 4-7.

Welcoming PM Hun Sen, we would like to congratulate the many-sided achievements recorded by the Cambodian people in their national construction and development.

We are happy to witness the Vietnam-Cambodia ties promoted by the leaders and people in the two countries under the motto “ Good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive and long lasting co-operation, have yielded results. The recent visits of high-level delegations of the two countries have contributed to boosting traditional friendship and comprehensive co-operation in a more efficient and reliable manner. Co-operation in economics, trade and investment has seen positive changes. Two way trade value increased to US$1.2 billion in 2007 and both sides are striving to reach the target of US$2 billion by 2010. Co-operation between ministries, sectors and localities from the two countries has also increased. The two sides have paid attention to co-operation in implementing the signed agreements and dealing with issues related to the border line, maintaining security and stability in border areas and have agreed to complete land border demarcation and landmark planting by 2010.

Vietnam and Cambodia have established a Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Co-operation to strengthen co-operation in the fields of economic, politics, trade, military and security. The two countries have also paid attention to enhancing co-operation in education-training, energy-electricity, healthcare, transport areas. Further more co-operation among localities, especially border provinces and twin cities has contributed to promoting traditional friendship and comprehensive co-operation between the two countries.

The two countries have also co-operation in regional and multilateral framework such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), The West-East Corridor (WEC), the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya – Mekong Economic Strategy ( ACMECS) and Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle.

Let PM Hun Sen’s visit to Vietnam be crowned with success, thus contributing to strengthening the Vietnam-Cambodia traditional friendship and comprehensive co-operation for happiness, prosperity of the peoples in both countries as well as in the Southeast Asia and the world.

NHAN DAN