Vietnamese and Cambodian senior officials met in Phnom Penh on August 20 for the Senior Officials’ Meeting under the framework of the 17th Meeting of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Commission on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation. — VNS Photo

Phnom Penh — The Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) within the framework of the 17th meeting of the Việt Nam -Cambodia Joint Commission for Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation (JC 17) opened in Phnom Penh on August 20. 
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Quốc Dũng and Secretary of State at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Eat Sophea co-chaired the event. 
The annual meeting aims to promote the scale and efficiency of bilateral cooperation in a range of spheres, while offering an opportunity for the two sides to exchange viewpoints on collaboration within regional and international frameworks. 
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh is scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen before he and Cambodian Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn co-chair the plenary session of JC 17 on August 21. 
According to a press release from the Cambodian ministry, JC 17 will help to enhance the relationship between the two countries, and contribute to regional and international peace and prosperity. 
Trade between Việt Nam and Cambodia reached US$4.7 billion in 2018, up 23.8 per cent year-on-year. In the first five months of 2019, the number stood at US$2.3 billion, up 19.1 per cent against the same period last year. It is expected to hit $5 billion this year. 
Việt Nam is one of Cambodia’s five biggest investors. The country has, to date, run 214 projects worth over $3 billion in the neighbouring country. 

Vietnamese businesses in Cambodia have contributed to economic development as well as social welfare in the host country. 
Besides, Việt Nam is also one of the biggest sources of tourists to Cambodia, with nearly 900,000 holidaymakers in 2018. 
The two countries have signed many deals to promote their economic ties such as the framework agreement on Việt Nam-Cambodia economic connectivity by 2030, the action plan for Cambodia-Laos-Việt Nam economic connectivity, the agreement on double taxation avoidance and the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on transport cooperation by 2025 with a vision towards 2030.  
Việt Nam’s national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism also signed a MoU on tourism connectivity. 
The two countries are preparing for the signing of a border trade agreement in 2019.-VNS