General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee Tô Lâm, and President of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Central Committee Hun Sen witnessed the exchange of cooperation agreement between Việt Nam's Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and Cambodia’s Ministry of Cults and Religion at the meeting on February 6. — VNA/VNS Photo

PHNOM PENH — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee Tô Lâm, and a high-ranking delegation of the CPV held a meeting with the Standing Board of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Central Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday, at the invitation of CPP President Hun Sen.

At the meeting, General Secretary Lâm expressed his pleasure at leading the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Party and State to pay a state visit to Cambodia and co-chair the meeting between the CPV and the CPP as well as the meeting of the party chiefs of Việt Nam, Cambodia and Laos shortly after the 14th National Congress of the CPV, demonstrating Việt Nam's foreign policy that attaches special importance to relations with the two traditional neighbouring countries.

He thanked CPP President Hun Sen for promptly sending a congratulatory letter and for dispatching CPP Vice President Men Sam An to Hà Nội to congratulate Việt Nam on the successful 14th National Party Congress.

Informing the CPP on the outcomes of the 14th National Party Congress and Việt Nam's development goals and orientations for the 2026–2030 period, General Secretary Tô Lâm stressed that the Congress's Resolution continues to reaffirm Việt Nam's consistent implementation of a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; multilateralisation and diversification of external relations; and prioritisation of building good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability with Cambodia on the basis of respect for each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate interests.

The General Secretary spoke highly of the important and comprehensive achievements Cambodia has attained under the leadership of the CPP headed by its President Hun Sen and the administration of the Government led by Prime Minister Hun Manet, expressing his confidence that Cambodia will successfully implement Phase I of the Pentagonal Strategy, becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.

CPP President Hun Sen congratulated Việt Nam on the successful 14th National Party Congress and Tô Lâm on his continued election as General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee. He highly evaluated the major orientations set forth by the 14th National Congress of the CPV, reflecting Vietnam’s strategic vision and political determination in the new development stage, while commending the country’s significant achievements in safeguarding peace and national development across all fields, noting continuous improvements in people’s living standards and Việt Nam's increasingly enhanced economic strength and role in the region and the world.

CPP President Hun Sen expressed his confidence that under the wise leadership of the CPV headed by General Secretary Tô Lâm, Việt Nam will successfully implement the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, advancing toward the goal of becoming a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income by 2030, and a developed socialist country with high income by 2045.

The two sides exchanged in-depth views on the situation of each Party and country following major political events and highly valued the positive development of relations between the two Parties and countries in recent years, emphasising that cooperation between the two Parties serves as the foundation guiding the overall Việt Nam–Cambodia relationship.

They affirmed the significance of the meeting between the CPV and the CPP in creating a solid political foundation to orient the bilateral ties and address specific issues between the two countries. Since the meeting in February 2025, the two sides have closely coordinated in organising high-level external activities; defence and security cooperation has deepened and become more effective; cooperation in economy, education, culture, science and technology has progressed positively, particularly in trade and tourism; and partnerships among ministries, sectors, mass organisations and people’s organisations have continued to be promoted in a more substantive manner.

The two sides noted that the world and regional situation is undergoing rapid, unstable and unpredictable changes, affecting countries including Việt Nam and Cambodia, which requires the two Parties and two countries to further strengthen solidarity, coordination and mutual support. At the same time, continuously consolidating political trust and enhancing coordination and mutual support among the three Parties and three countries of Việt Nam, Laos and Cambodia is both an objective requirement and a key factor in ensuring a peaceful, stable and comprehensive cooperative environment for national construction and defence of each nation.

The two sides agreed to further consolidate political trust and maintain regular, substantive and effective mutual visits and meetings at all levels, particularly at the high level and through Party-to-Party and State-to-State channels. They pledged to strengthen cooperation in defence and security, increase information sharing, and coordinate closely in the fight against transnational crimes, especially cybercrime.

They also agreed to more connect the two economies more closely, especially in terms of transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure and digital transformation, as well as industrial processing and agricultural supply chains, based on the two sides' complementary strengths. Việt Nam and Cambodia will step up investment, trade and tourism promotion activities, striving to raise bilateral trade turnover to US$20 billion in the coming period.

They underscored the importance of deepening cooperation in education, training and human resources development in a long-term manner, regarding education and training as a vital bridge linking the younger generations of the two countries.

In addition, the signed bilateral agreements and cooperation documents will continued to be carried out effectively while new frameworks and mechanisms will be established to further tighten linkages.

Both sides reaffirmed their respect for and full implementation of the treaties on land border demarcation and marker planting, as well as other agreements related to the shared border. They pledged to continue efforts to seek mutually acceptable solutions to the remaining approximately 16 per cent of the border, with the aim of building a border of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation and sustainable development.

General Secretary Tô Lâm proposed Cambodia continue to create favourable conditions and ensure non-discriminatory treatment for people of Vietnamese origin living, working and studying in Cambodia.

The two sides agreed to further promote cooperative relations between agencies of the two countries' Parties, parliaments, ministries, sectors, and mass organisations, along with between their peoples and localities, especially border localities. They will expand cooperation and mutual support in socio-economic development, maintain security and stability in border areas, and promptly address any issues emerging.

They also agreed to closely coordinate and support each other at regional and international forums, particularly within the frameworks of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Mekong sub-region. Cooperation will be strengthened in the sustainable and efficient use of water resources towards sustainable development, with particular emphasis on responding to and mitigating climate change impacts on the Mekong River’s water resources.

At the meeting, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn and Cambodian National Assembly President Khuon Sudary all concurred with the major assessments and orientations set by CPV General Secretary Tô Lâm and CPP President Hun Sen regarding the comprehensive and profound relationship between the two Parties and the two countries.

They further clarified the results achieved in implementing the conclusions of the February 2025 meeting between the two Parties across fields including politics – diplomacy, defence – security, economic connectivity, education – training, culture – tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, along with cooperation between the two legislatures.

They candidly pointed out shortcomings that need to be addressed and agreed on several priorities for coordination to carry out the conclusions of the high-level Party meeting in the time ahead.

On this occasion, the leaders of the two sides witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Party Committee of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CPP Central Committee's Commission for External Relations for the 2026–2030 period.

They also witnessed the exchange of 11 cooperation documents, including a 2026 cooperation plan between Việt Nam's Ministry of Public Security and Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior; a cooperation agreement between Việt Nam's Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and Cambodia’s Ministry of Cults and Religion; three cooperation deals between the People’s Committee of Việt Nam's Tây Ninh Province and the administrations of Cambodia's Svay Rieng, Prey Veng and Tbong Khmum provinces; and six others between the People’s Committee of Việt Nam's Đồng Nai Province and the administrations of Cambodia's Kratie, Mondulkiri, Tbong Khmum, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom and Stung Treng provinces. — VNA/VNS