Seminar seeks to remove obstacles for Vietnam-Cambodia logistics activities

This marked the first in-person conference on logistics held between the two countries after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Logistics activities across the border, widely considered to be a "blood vessel" in economic co-operation, play a crucial role in restoring socio-economic activities and overcoming disruptions within the supply chain between the two countries, as well as the region as a whole.

Upon addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Huy Tang stated that although bilateral trade turnover between both sides has continued to grow over the past two years, reaching more than US$5 billion in 2020 and over US$9.5 billion in 2021, the two countries’ authorities and businesses must improve and agree on relevant legal documents in a bid to promote greater efficiency and sustainability in trade activities.

With regard to customs procedures, some logistics enterprises emphasized the necessity of considering cutting the time for processes such as customs approval, price consultation, C/O approval (Certificate of Origin); acceptance of scanned documents upon customs clearance, and approval by the customs office in Phnom Penh.

Many firms have raised the issue of shortening customs clearance time at ports and borders, especially with regard to removing difficulties faced by machinery shipments temporarily imported into Cambodia for project construction and then re-exported to the Vietnamese market.

Concerning the opinion that Cambodia should seek to improve its infrastructure, especially main routes from Bavet border gate in Svay Rieng province to the capital Phnom Penh, Chhieng Pich, director-general of the General Department of Logistics under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport of Cambodia, provided detailed information on the construction plan of the Bavet-Phnom Penh expressway.

This will be Cambodia's second key economic corridor after the upcoming Preah Sihanouk-Phnom Penh route. In addition to the highway, Cambodia's Ministry of Transport and Public Works is also in the process of studying the feasibility of building a Phnom Penh-Bavet-Ho Chi Minh City railway for the purpose of reducing freight costs.

Participants at the event frankly exchanged many opinions, assessed the current situation, as well as focusing on problems in order to seek solutions which can improve the overall competitiveness of the two countries’ logistics service providers.

Many businesses have shared lessons learned in the Cambodian market, such as strengthening co-ordination in trade promotion activities, communication, and in creating conditions for logistics startups to exchange and approach e-commerce businesses and consumer goods manufacturers.