Vietnam, Cambodia boost ties, speed up co-operation

5th November 2008

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh (right) receives Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.— VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sang

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (right) and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at a ceremony to salute the national flags of both countries. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Tam

Hanoi— Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh told Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that his visit to Viet Nam was an important event, further developing relations between the two countries.

Speaking at a reception for his guest in Ha Noi yesterday, Manh also applauded the consensus that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his counterpart Hun Sen had reached at an earlier meeting, which was aimed at speeding up the implementation of high-ranking agreements between the two sides.

The Party General Secretary also confirmed Viet Nam’s policy of attaching great importance to and trying its utmost to consolidate and develop good relations, traditional friendship, comprehensive co-operation and long-term solidarity between people in the two countries.

Prime Minister Hun Sen affirmed the Cambodian Government and people would also try their best to consolidate and develop the relationship, traditional friendship and comprehensive co-operation between Viet Nam and Cambodia.

Meeting with President Triet

President Nguyen Minh Triet said he wanted Viet Nam and Cambodia to further strengthen comprehensive co-operation, increase trust and tighten political relations to achieve greater results in trade and investment.

The two sides needed to strengthen relations between ministries, industries, cities and provinces in addition to increasing high-ranking visits, Triet told Hun Sen at a separate meeting yesterday.

In reply, Hun Sen informed Triet about the results of his meeting with Prime Minister Dung. He said relations between the two countries in economy, trade, investment, healthcare and energy had rapidly developed in recent years.

VN, Cambodia erect border markers

The Vietnamese province of Long An and the Cambodian provinces of Prey Veng and Svay Rieng yesterday started putting a new pair of borderline markers in place. The erection of markers No230-1 and 230-2, which are expected to be completed by mid-December this year, is part of an agreement of the Viet Nam-Cambodia Joint Committee for Border Demarcation and Marker Planting. Long An and the two Cambodian provinces share nearly 138,000km of borderline on which they agreed to plant 62 landmarks.

Hun Sen stressed Cambodia had always desired tighter co-operation with Viet Nam and Laos in order to increase the prosperity of the three countries’ development triangle.

Boosting bilateral trade

Viet Nam and Cambodia yesterday agreed to create favourable conditions for trade and service and to reach bilateral trade of over US$2 billion by 2010.

Co-operation among localities, especially in border areas between the two countries, was encouraged. This was announced in Ha Noi at a meeting between Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The two government leaders expressed their satisfaction at seeing the two countries’ recent excellent relationship and determination to bring the friendship and comprehensive co-operation to a new height in following years.

They agreed to maintain close ties on security and defence and strengthen co-operation on preventing terrorism, international criminals, smuggling, and drug and human trafficking.

They also affirmed their promise not to allow any hostile force to use territory of one country to harm the other and destroy the friendly relationship and co-operation between Viet Nam and Cambodia.

The two PMs appreciated the results of border demarcation meetings and affirmed their determination to increase this work to comply with 1985 agreements on border demarcation, which were supplemented in 2005.

They also exchanged ideas on mutual interests in regional and international areas and promised to continue co-operation in multilateral organisations including the UN, ASEAN and other co-operation regulatory agencies in the region and the sub-region.

After the meeting, the two PMs witnessed the signing of five co-operation documents between the two countries, including an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders, an agreement on goods transit, an agreement on a railway linking the two countries, a co-operative plan between the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications and the Cambodian Ministry of Information for 2009-10 and an agreement between Radio the Voice of Viet Nam and the Voice of Cambodia. — VNS