Deputy PM holds talks with Cambodian counterpart

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh and Cambodian Deputy PM Men Sam An

The host welcomed Deputy PM Binh to visit Cambodia for the first time in his position as the Permanent Deputy PM.

The two sides informed each other of the socio-economic situation in each country, while voicing their delight at the strong development of the comprehensive cooperative relations between Viet Nam and Cambodia over recent times.

Deputy PM Men Sam An affirmed that the Cambodian people will never forget Viet Nam’s kind-hearted and effective support for Cambodia in the past as well as at the present, especially the great sacrifice of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who helped the Cambodian people to escape from the genocidal regime.

The two Deputy PMs highly valued the importance of the signing of two legal documents recognizing the completion of 84 percent of work in delimitation and border marker planting along the land border of the two countries.

They said the signing of the documents’ has created a strong momentum for the two countries to continue addressing remaining border-related issues towards building a border of peace, friendship and cooperation for mutual development between Viet Nam and Cambodia.   

They affirmed the shared resolve to well implement high-level agreements, maintain bilateral cooperative mechanisms, and consider supplementing existing agreements or signing new ones to further facilitate business partnership in order to raise two-way trade to over US$5 billion in 2020.  

The Deputy PMs agreed to constantly deepen bilateral relations in an extensive and substantial manner under the motto “good neighborliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation”, on the basis of mutual trust, mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits.

They committed to maintain and promote the efficiency of the defense-security cooperation mechanisms, making cooperation in this field one of the pillars of Viet Nam-Cambodia relations.

Regarding religious and ethnic cooperation, the two sides agreed to strengthen their coordination in combating plots and tricks of the evil forces which seek to take advantage of religious and ethnic issues to sabotage ties between the two countries.

The officials also reached a consensus on maintaining their coordination in addressing problems in bilateral relations in the spirit of trust, friendship, mutual understanding, while working closely together in supporting and creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Cambodia to lead stable lives, ensure legal status and contribute to Cambodia’s socio-economic development, thus becoming a friendship bridge for bilateral relations.

Regarding regional and international matters, Deputy PM Binh affirmed Viet Nam’s good will about settling the East Sea issue by peaceful measures on the basis of international law and the shared stance of the ASEAN at the 35th ASEAN Summit, and asked Cambodia to continue backing ASEAN’s common stance.

He proposed that the two countries work together and support each other in organizing events and external activities during 2020 when Viet Nam plays the roles of ASEAN Chair and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 while Cambodia hosts the 13th ASEM Summit.

The meeting took place in an atmosphere of friendship, sincerity and mutual understanding./.

By Vien Nhu