Deputy Prime Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn and President of the Cambodian Senate and President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Samdech Techo Hun Sen. VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Thảo

PHNOM PENH — Deputy Prime Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn held meetings with Cambodian Party and Government leaders on November 28 to further consolidate and strengthen the fine neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability between the two countries.

The meetings took place during his official visit to Cambodia, where he co-chaired the 13th Conference on Cooperation and Development between Vietnamese and Cambodian border provinces from November 27-28.

During a courtesy call on President of the Cambodian Senate and President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Deputy PM Sơn expressed his delight at the strong growth of bilateral ties in recent times. He highlighted that cooperation through the Party channel has helped reinforce mutual trust and laid the foundation for advancing cooperation in other fields. Security and defence cooperation continues to play a pivotal role, helping maintain order along the shared border. Increasingly close economic cooperation has become a bright spot in bilateral relations, reflected in robust trade growth.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will direct relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to effectively carry out agreements between the two countries, especially the key outcomes reached at the 13th conference on cooperation and development of border provinces.

President Hun Sen voiced satisfaction with the positive and comprehensive progress in bilateral ties in recent years, stressing the importance of Party-to-Party cooperation between Việt Nam and Cambodia, as well as among Việt Nam, Cambodia, and Laos. He recommended that the two sides step up cooperation across all fields, from politics, security, defence, economy, trade, and investment to education, training, culture, science, technology, people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation between border provinces.

Later the same day, during his courtesy call on Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet, Sơn congratulated Cambodia on the significant achievements recorded since the start of the seventh term of the Royal Government under PM Hun Manet’s leadership, including sustained political stability, continued economic growth, improved living standards, and enhanced international standing.

He emphasised that under the close attention and direction of the two countries’ leaders, Việt Nam–Cambodia relations have been continuously strengthened and expanded, delivering tangible benefits to both peoples. Economic cooperation has become increasingly close and remains a highlight of bilateral ties. He affirmed that Việt Nam stands ready to work closely with Cambodia to ensure the successful organisation of the 20th Francophonie Summit.

Sơn expressed his hope that PM Hun Manet, in his role, will continue directing relevant Cambodian ministries, sectors, and localities to work closely with Việt Nam to create breakthroughs in economic cooperation, particularly by accelerating transport and logistics connectivity, including the Hồ Chí Minh City–Mộc Bài–Bavet–Phnom Penh expressway project. The two countries will develop border gates and cross-border trade infrastructure; and encourage proactive local-level cooperation, especially in trade, health care, and education.

He also called for strengthened defence and security cooperation, including joint efforts against cybercrime, human trafficking, and other transnational crimes; effective solutions for outstanding border demarcation issues; early signing of agreements on land border gates and border management; and continued attention to granting citizenship to all eligible persons of Vietnamese origin and facilitating their children’s access to public schools.

Hun Manet called for the continued implementation of Party-to-Party cooperation and trilateral cooperation among Việt Nam, Laos, and Cambodia; enhanced connectivity by road, waterway, and air; and strengthened comprehensive cooperation between border provinces in culture-education, security-defence, and combating transnational crime. He also emphasised that the Royal Government of Cambodia attaches importance to the Vietnamese-origin community and will support Vietnamese enterprises operating and investing in Cambodia.

Earlier, on November 27, Deputy PM Sơn and his delegation visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, where he met embassy staff, representatives of the Vietnamese community, and people of Vietnamese origin living and working in the country. He reaffirmed Việt Nam’s consistent policy of strengthening and further promoting the friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Cambodia, one of the top priorities in Việt Nam’s foreign policy, for the mutual development of both countries.

He noted that the Government is actively advancing international integration and introducing preferential mechanisms and policies to support integration, thereby creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses investing in Cambodia and other countries, while offering border provinces opportunities to proactively enhance cooperation with neighbouring localities.

Sơn encouraged the Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin communities in Cambodia to continue integrating well into local society, uniting and supporting one another to grow stronger, thereby contributing to reinforcing Việt Nam–Cambodia relations.

He also visited several Vietnamese businesses operating in Phnom Penh. — VNS