Cambodia, Vietnam to boost border trade

• Sep 17, 2018

Cambodia and Vietnam have agreed to boost their bilateral trade figures to $5 billion with the acceleration of a border trade agreement following an increase in trade volume between both countries.

As quoted by Kao Kim Huon, the minister attached to the PM’s office, Prime Minister Hun Sen who met with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi, Vietnam last week made these remarks, saying: “I want to see an acceleration in the negotiation involving the border trade agreement between both countries, with its forthcoming signing soon,”

The agreement is expected to be inked in an official visit of Mr Hun Sen to Vietnam in the near future, Mr Kim Huon said.

The two nations are currently finalizing the negotiations for the signing of the Border Trade agreement, which will ease trade traffic between the two countries.

The leaders of Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to enhance a comprehensive co-operation between the two nations. As a result, they intend to raise bilateral trade to $5 billion in the coming years.

The border trade agreement between Cambodia and Vietnam was initiated in 2016.

The aim is to address current challenges in overland trade between both countries. It will help smoothen import and export issues along the main common border and also at other corridors.

The bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and Cambodia in 2017 reached $3.8 billion, up more than 25 percent over 2016, according to figures provided by the Vietnamese Embassy to Phnom Penh.

Of the total, Cambodia’s imports from Vietnam reached $2.77 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26 percent. Meanwhile, Cambodia’s export rose to $1 billion, up 40.6 percent.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50533723/cambodia-vietnam-to-boost-border-trade/