Cambodian King Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni welcomes Vietnamese President Tô Lâm. — VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sáng

PHNOM PENH — Cambodian King Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni hosted an official welcome ceremony for Vietnamese President Tô Lâm at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh on July 12.

The Vietnamese leader is paying a state visit to Cambodia on July 12 and 13 at the invitation of the King.

Following the welcome ceremony, President Lâm had a meeting with King Norodom Sihamoni.

On the basis of the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability between the two countries, President Lâm's state visit to Cambodia, part of his first tour abroad as the State leader of Việt Nam, is critically important to continuing to reinforce the political trust and promote all-round cooperation in a more practical and effective manner, thereby affirming Việt Nam's consistent policy of attaching importance to, further intensifying its relations with Cambodia, as well as strengthening the trust and close-knit ties between high-ranking leaders of the two countries.

The bilateral relations have been maintained firmly, with Party-to-Party cooperation holding the core role in setting up orientations for the two countries’ ties. Defence - security cooperation remains a pillar while economic, trade, and investment partnerships are currently a bright spot, especially the vigorous growth of bilateral trade.

Việt Nam is currently the third largest trading partner of Cambodia in the world and the biggest trading partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The bilateral trade rose from US$5.32 billion in 2020 to $10.57 billion in 2022. Last year, despite negative impacts from the global economic downturn, the two-way trade was still maintained at a high level, reaching $8.57 billion. In the first five months of 2024, the Việt Nam-Cambodia trade hit $4.6 billion and is expected to reach the $10-billion mark again for the whole year.

Cambodian King Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni welcomes President Tô Lâm. — VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sáng

Việt Nam now has 205 valid projects with combined registered capital of $2.94 billion, ranking first among ASEAN nations and in the top five countries with the highest amounts of direct investment in Cambodia. Meanwhile, Cambodia has 35 valid projects worth $76 million in Việt Nam.

Việt Nam and Cambodia have also been stepping up collaboration in the fields of education, transport, culture - social affairs, tourism, and science-technology. They have recorded new progress in the settlement of legal papers for Vietnamese-origin people. Exchanges and cooperation between people’s organisations of the countries have also been maintained and reformed.

Besides, the two nations have kept cooperation, coordination, and mutual support at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations, ASEAN, and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms. — VNS