Vietnam calls for cooperation to reach $5 billion trade goal

31 May 2019 2057 | Business & Trade Fairs

The Vietnamese Prime Minister has urged the president of Cambodia’s National Assembly to work together to boost bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2020.

Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnam’s Prime Minister, made the request this week during the state visit to Hanoi of Heng Samrin, president of the National Assembly, according to a post on Mr Samrin’s Facebook page on Thursday.

According to the post, Mr Phuc said that Mr Samrin’s visit is proof of the warm relationship the two countries enjoy, adding that economic ties are also robust.

“The visit of Samdech Heng Samrin is a good opportunity to show that both the diplomatic and economic relationships between the two countries have been developing and flourishing,” Mr Phuc was quoted as saying.

Mr Samrin said that, as neighboring countries, it is essential that they cooperate for the benefit of the people.

“The visit to Vietnam of this delegation from the National Assembly aims to further strengthen relations to boost the economy and benefit our peoples.”

In 2018, bilateral trade reached $4.6 billion, an increase of 23.2 percent compared with the same period in 2017, according to data from the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

The embassy said trade will continue to increase after the governments sign an agreement on promoting trade in the near future.

“The two sides will strive to increase bilateral trade to reach $5 billion by 2020 as agreed by the heads of governments of the two countries.”

As of 2018, Vietnam had about 210 investment projects in Cambodia, mostly in agriculture and forestry, with a total registered investment capital of about $3 billion.

Cambodian investment in Vietnam has also expanded in recent years. There are now 19 projects by Cambodian firms in Vietnam, amounting to $63.4 million in investment, according to data from the Vietnamese Embassy.

“Cooperation and investment between the two countries will continue to develop strongly in coming years when the leaders of the two countries agree to discuss ways to match the needs of cooperation and development of Cambodia, as set out in the Rectangular Strategy, with the capabilities and strengths of Vietnam,” the embassy said.