Vietnam, Cambodia Foreign Ministries seek stronger ties

The two diplomats agreed that the State visit to Cambodia by President Tran Dai Quang has contributed to strengthening and elevatingthe bilateral relationship to a higher level.

They stressed the need to make good preparations for visits by the two countries’ leaders and intensify exchange of visits in the near future. 

The two leaders expressed their delight at the rapid and effective development of bilateral ties across a variety of fields from politics-diplomacy and national defence-security to economy, trade and investment, as well as the effective operation of cooperation mechanisms, including the 14 th meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation. 

They praised the two countries’ agencies for speeding up the progress of planting border markers, adding that the work should be completed as soon as possible to build a borderline of peace, friendship, sustainable cooperation and development. 

Deputy PM Minh asked Cambodia to provide all possible support for Vietnamese nationals living in the country, contributing to reinforcing the traditional neighbourly friendship between the two countries. 

He also suggested the Cambodian Foreign Ministry provide more favourable policies to Vietnamese investors in Cambodia, including granting certificates of land use and concluding negotiations on the double taxation avoidance agreement, toward lifting two-way trade to US$5 billion.

Both sides agreed to maintain close cooperation and coordination of viewpoints at regional and global forums, while increasing collaboration with other ASEAN member states to consolidate ASEAN’s solidarity, unity and central role, for the sake of peace, security, stability and cooperation in the region and the world. 

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides shared the view that disputes should be solved by peaceful means without using or threatening to use force in line with widely-accepted principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while abiding to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and working towards the early formulation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). 

Host and guest also pledged to continue working closely together and with other members of the International Mekong River Commission to ensure the sustainable management and use of Mekong River water resources and promote Mekong – Lancang cooperation.

The Cambodian Minister is on a working visit to Vietnam from June 21-23 at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.