Cambodia, Vietnam seek broader cooperation in e-commerce and digital economy

The Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam-Cambodia Business Association (VCBA), organized the Vietnam-Cambodia Trade and Investment Promotion Forum on December 25 in Phnom Penh as part of efforts to enhance cross-border e-commerce linkages and the digital economy.

The event featured the participation of over 140 delegates, including leaders, experts, managers, and business representatives of the two countries.

In his opening speech, Oknha Leng Rithy, chairman of the VCBA, emphasized that in a world where information is shared at a fast pace and e-commerce serves as a bridge connecting producers and consumers globally, the forum has been organized with the goal of stepping up collaboration efforts, expanding trade exchanges, and working together in a bid to shape a prosperous future for the two countries.

According to Leng Rithy, mutual economic and trading ties have recorded remarkable achievements over recent years as a contribution to the development of each side. He highlighted opportunities for further cross-border co-operation and digital economy promotion amid the deep international integration and Industry 4.0.

He expressed his confidence that this function will help firms of the two countries to seize upon opportunities, fully grasp policies, find suitable partners, connect businesses, create trade links, promote investment in potential fields, as well as accompany enterprises in digital transformation by taking advantage of technology to sharpen competitiveness.
In his address, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Huy Tang stressed that this as an extremely meaningful discussion topic amid the two governments focusing on boosting the development of platforms and infrastructure for e-commerce and the digital economy.

This forum is widely viewed as an opportunity for businesses and financiers from both countries to explore investment and business opportunities in each other’s market in the field of e-commerce and digital economy, thus helping to spur the increasingly developing economic co-operation between the two in the coming time, he added.

According to Ambassador Tang, constantly consolidating and strengthening the good traditional friendship, comprehensive co-operation for mutual benefit, including economic, trade and investment co-operation, has always been of interest to both countries’ senior leaders and is a key task of the Embassy.

The recent visits to Cambodia by senior Vietnamese leaders have contributed to fostering the comprehensive joint linkages, especially in the fields of economics, trade, and investment.

The new Cambodian Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Samdech Hun Manet is also highly interested in promoting, exploiting potential, and opportunities for co-operation, whilst also strengthening trade links between the two countries. This is a favourable condition for businesses and investors of the two countries as they seek to ramp up economic, trade, and investment co-operation in the time ahead.

Regarding the field of e-commerce and the digital economy, the Vietnamese diplomat stated that the respective Governments are both interested in promoting this field, as well as actively supporting and engaging in the early conclusion of negotiations on the Framework Agreement on Digital Economy of ASEAN. These are important foundations and optimal conditions for both sides to intensify cross-border e-commerce exchanges and digital economic co-operation in the time to come.

To turn senior leaders’ commitments on promoting economic, trade, and investment ties into reality, especially reaching the bilateral trade target of US$20 billion in the future, both Vietnamese and Cambodian enterprises play an important role in connecting and promoting trade and investment, whilst fully tapping into the inherent potential of the two countries, especially in the fields of e-commerce and digital economy.

After the opening session, the participants learned about the aspects of cross-border e-commerce ties and the digital economy between Vietnam and Cambodia through discussions on their e-commerce and economic development.

Within the framework of the forum, there was also a signing ceremony of a rice supply agreement between Kon Khmer Co. Ltd, a local enterprise and a number of Vietnamese firms operating in Cambodia, and other Vietnamese enterprises.

Besides, there were also trade connection activities between entrepreneurs and business communities of the two countries.