Cambodia and Vietnam agreed to strengthen and expand their friendship and cooperation, with a special focus on the economy, according to the outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, who met on November 8 for bilateral cooperation talks.

Pham Minh Chinh is paying a two-day visit to Cambodia from November 8-9 before attending the ASEAN Summit and related meetings from November 10-13.

During the meeting, Pham Minh Chinh cheered Cambodia Independence, and the Kingdom’s successful chairmanship of ASEAN this year.

Following the meeting, Hun Sen’s personal assistant Eang Sophalleth, told reporters that the two leaders had agreed to strengthen and develop friendly cooperation between the two countries, especially in economic terms.

“This will be accomplished through reciprocal visits by officials of the two countries, and the boosting of cross border trade via market expansion and the opening of more border crossings,” he said.

“In addition, the two leaders agreed to push for increased connectivity by land and air, through direct flights from more provinces and major cities. Agreement was also reached to foster closer digital cooperation,” he added.

Hun Sen thanked his Vietnamese counterpart for the many scholarships which were available to the Kingdom’s youth. He also applauded Vietnam’s economic growth and control of Covid-19.

Hun Sen and Pham Minh Chinh witnessed the signing of 11 cooperation documents on land transport; agricultural cooperation; border trade; commerce; TV and radio cooperation; telecom, ICT, and digital transformation; labour; financial innovation and payment systems.