Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Cambodia are enjoyingflourishing friendship and cooperation, which have been nurtured by generationsof the two countries’ leaders and people.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha SenaPadei Techo Hun Sen will pay an official visit to Vietnam from December 6 to 8at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

This will be the first official trip to Vietnamby PM Hun Sen since Cambodia set up its sixth-tenure Government last September.It is also on the threshold of the 40th anniversary of the victory over the genocidalKhmer Rouge regime (January 7, 1979), which Cambodia won with Vietnam’ssupport.

The visit will help Vietnam reiterate itsforeign policy of independence, self-reliance and diversification andmultilateralisation of foreign relations, with a focus on developing relationswith Cambodia.

With diplomatic ties established on June 24,1967, the two countries have maintained mutual high-ranking visits as well asdelegation exchanges between their ministries, sectors and localities.

The two prime ministers have also discussedbilateral cooperation at many events, including the 10th Cambodia-Laos-VietnamSummit on Development Triangle Area in Hanoi in April, the 27th World EconomicForum on ASEAN in Hanoi in September and the ASEAN leaders’ gathering inIndonesia’s Bali in October 2018.

In the Friendship Year 2017, the countriesworked together to repair and inaugurate 13 monuments to the Vietnam-Cambodiafriendship. They also organised activities marking 50 years of their diplomaticrelations last year.

Cooperation between ministries, sectors andlocalities, along with people-to-people exchange have been promoted. The twosides have coordinated in sharing information, resolving incidents along theirborder and stepping up joint patrols at sea. 

The countries have been consistent in theprinciple of not allowing hostile forces to use one country’s territory tosabotage the other’s security and stability. They have also worked closely tosearch for and repatriate remains of Vietnam’s soldiers who died in Cambodia duringwartime.

While realising their foreign policies ofmultilateralising and diversifying foreign relations, Vietnam and Cambodia havecoordinated at international and regional mechanisms like theCambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area, theCambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Cooperation, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-MekongEconomic Cooperation Strategy, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, theAsia-Europe Meeting and the United Nations, thereby helping to improve eachcountry’s stature in the region and the world.

Encouraging outcomes have also been recorded inbilateral economic links.

Two-way trade reached 3.8 billion USD in 2017,up 30 percent year on year. The figure topped 3.8 billion USD in the first 10months of 2018, up 21 percent from a year earlier.

Vietnam has invested in 206 projects worth 3.02billion USD in Cambodia, making it one of the five biggest foreign directinvestors in the latter. Meanwhile, Cambodian investment in Vietnam has alsobeen rising, with 18 projects worth 58.12 million USD.

Investment and business activities of Vietnamesefirms have been highly valued by Cambodian leaders, and they have helped withlocal social welfare and development.

In 2017, more than 835,000 Vietnamese visitedCambodia, making Vietnam the country’s second largest source of foreigntourists.-VNA