Cambodia, Vietnam will meet 2020 trade target: Ministry

• Jul 23, 2019

Cambodia and Vietnam are optimistic that they will reach $5 billion in bilateral trade by 2020 as pledged by their governments.

That optimism was evident during a meeting last week between Prak Sokhonn, Cambodia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Nguyen Quoc Dung, Vietnam’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting, held on Thursday in Phnom Penh, was part of the sixth round of political consultations between the two countries.

“Given current trends, including the fact that two-way trade reached $4.7 billion last year, bilateral trade will reach and may even surpass the target of $5 billion by 2020 set by the governments.

“This will be possible thanks to the Bilateral Trade Enhancement for 2019-2020, signed in February 2019,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release on Sunday.

During the meeting, both parties briefed each other on recent political and economic developments in each country and agreed that peace, security, and stability are essential for socio-economic progress in both countries and in the region.

The discussion covered political and security cooperation, trade and investment, human resources development, tourism and cultural promotion, infrastructure connectivity, and border policy, among others.

Both sides agreed to find ways to further enhance cooperation in these fields to serve their mutual interests, according to the statement.

The officials also agreed to speed up work on the conclusion of the Border Trade Agreement and implement relevant measures to further expand trade and investment, and facilitate the movement of goods and people across their shared border.

“The fruitful outcomes of the political consultation contribute to strengthening the relationship between the two countries, and lay the groundwork for the 17th Joint Commission Meeting between Cambodia and Vietnam in August,” the Ministry said.

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.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50626267/cambodia-vietnam-will-meet-2020-trade-target-ministry/