Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn meets with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia Prak Sokhonn in Hà Nội yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Cambodia will further strengthen cooperation in a range of fields including transport connectivity, tourism and agriculture-forestry-fishery.

The statement was made on Tuesday after talks between Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia Prak Sokhonn, during the Cambodian official's visit to Việt Nam from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The two sides agreed to promote and implement high-level visits, and continue to maintain and promote the effectiveness of existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms while implementing the joint statements and cooperation agreements between the two Parties and the two Governments.

The two diplomats also agreed to promote the connection of the two economies, and strengthen cooperation between localities, especially between border provinces.

The two countries will expedite the progress of the demarcation of the remaining 16 per cent that has not yet been completed.

Regarding regional and international cooperation, the two sides emphasised their commitment to work closely together in strengthening ASEAN's solidarity, unity and centrality, as well as strengthening cooperation between the association and its partners. 

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed to affirm the significance of maintaining security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.

They also noted the importance of settling disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), as well as the strive to achieve an effective, substantive and consistent Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS 1982.

Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn thanked and asked Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn to continue to pay attention to and support Vietnamese people in Cambodia to stabilise their lives, integrate into the host country, and act as a friendship bridge between Vietnamese and Cambodian people and the two countries.

He suggested that Cambodia continue to cooperate in solving cases of Vietnamese citizens being scammed and forced to work illegally at some foreign entertainment service establishments in Cambodia.

Sokhonn affirmed that Cambodia will continue to treat people of Vietnamese origin in Cambodia as fairly as with other countries.

On the same day, the two leaders chaired the 20th meeting of the Việt Nam-Cambodia Joint Commission on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation (20th JC).

The two sides exchanged in-depth opinions on the results of cooperation between the ministries, agencies and sectors of the two countries in the fields of politics-diplomacy, national defence, security, border cooperation, economy, trade, investment, transportation, education and training, culture, sports, tourism, health, justice as well as cooperation between localities of the two countries.

The two sides said they were delighted with the development of the bilateral relations, especially the successful coordination in organising the high-level meeting between the two parties on February 18, 2023, the official visits of Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ to Cambodia in 2022, as well as many meaningful activities within the framework of the "Việt Nam-Cambodia Friendship Year 2022" to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of the Việt Nam-Cambodia diplomatic relationship.

Defence-security cooperation has become an increasingly important pillar in the relationship between the two countries. Economic cooperation has been a prominent highlight in the two countries' cooperation in recent years.

In 2022, bilateral trade turnover reached US$10.57 billion, up nearly 11 per cent against 2021. Việt Nam is Cambodia's third largest trading partner in ASEAN and has 205 valid investment projects in Cambodia with a total capital of US$2.94 billion, ranking first in ASEAN and in the top five countries with the largest direct investment in Cambodia.

They also agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the fields of transport connectivity, tourism, agriculture-forestry-fishery, post and telecommunications and information technology, labour, natural resources and environment.

The two diplomats also urged the two countries to continue to cooperate effectively in finding, gathering and repatriating the remains of Vietnamese soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia in wartime. — VNS